John K. Ewers | |
---|---|
Born | 13 June 1904 |
Died | 9 March 1978 |
Nationality | Australian |
Genre | Fiction |
Spouse | Jean Grant McIntyre |
John Keith Ewers (13 June 1904 – 9 March 1978) was a novelist, poet, schoolteacher and short story writer from Western Australia.[1][2][3] He was the second son of Ernest Ewers, orchardist, and his wife Annie Eliza, née Gray. When he was 6 years old, his mother died.[4] Ewers was educated at James Street Intermediate and Perth Modern schools, and at Claremont Teachers College. He began writing while he was a young teacher. The Australian Journal published in 1924 was his first short story, under the nom-de-plume, J. K. Waterjugs,[5] a play on the meaning of ewer. He wrote early on in his career in Our Rural Magazine and Walkabout.[6]
Ewers was involved in the Western Australian branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers and was its president.[7] He campaigned to preserve "Tom Collins" House (the home of Joseph Furphy, author of Such is Life), in the Perth suburb of Swanbourne.
He also co-authored, with Deirdre Ellis Weston, the following grammar textbooks that were used widely throughout Western Australian schools during the 1950s to 1970s.
In June 1936 Ewers married school teacher and University of Western Australia scientist Jean Grant McIntyre.[8][9] They had one child, Trisha Kotai-Ewers born in 1939.[3][10]
With Deirdre Ellis Weston: