PORTER, HAL

born Feb. 16, 1911, Albert Park, Vic., Australia died Sept. 29, 1984, Melbourne Australian novelist, playwright, and poet who is noted for his style and honesty. After completing his education, Porter became a schoolmaster in 1927, teaching at various schools until 1951. He worked as a librarian from 1953 to 1961, when he became a full-time writer. His short stories first appeared in the Adelaide Advertiser in 1953 and were later published in several collections, among them Fredo Fuss Love Life (1974) and The Clairvoyant Goat (1980). Collections of his poems include The Hexagon (1956), Elijah's Ravens (1968), and In an Australian Graveyard (1974). Among his novels are A Handful of Pennies (1958), The Titled Cross (1961), and The Right Thing (1971). His successful, multivolume autobiography, which includes The Watcher on the Cast-Iron Balcony (1963), The Paper Chase (1966), and The Extra (1975), was well received.