Talk:Patrick White

Patrick White was nominated as a Language and literature good article, but it did not meet the good article criteria at the time (September 29, 2015). There are suggestions on the review page for improving the article. If you can improve it, please do; it may then be renominated.

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This article is written in Australian English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, realise, program, labour (but Labor Party)) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on May 28, 2017.

Archives

Index

Archive 1

This page has archives. Sections older than 90 days may be automatically archived by when more than 5 sections are present.

Military stuff given such prominence?

I think White in his later life would have been appalled at the appearance of that military "allegiance" and what he called "flag-wagging" in the infobox. I'm minded to remove it. Tony (talk) 00:34, 7 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I'm inclined to agree. I don't so much mind White's personal objection (this is an encyclopedia, after all), but I looked at the pages of a few authors whom I know to have served - e.e. cummings, Barbara Pym, C.S. Lewis and J.D. Salinger - none of whom have that in their infobox. It's relevant to his overall life story but not in any way to his notability. The Cardigan Kid (talk) 06:11, 9 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed it. The info box is supposed to record key facts. See Wikipedia:INFOBOXPURPOSE. White's notability was as a writer, not for his war service which he doesn't even write about in his fiction. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 06:28, 3 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Critical reception

Hello all

I have added a section on the critical reception of White's work. Given that White's notability is as a writer, I don't think there is enough attention to his work in the article. I have also added a sources section.

Happy to discuss Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 05:18, 3 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Themes and style

Hello all

I have added a section on the themes and style of White's work. I think this produces a better balance in the article's coverage of White's life and work.

Happy to discuss. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 05:24, 3 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Lead

Hello all

I have significantly expanded the lead to take account of the new content and to better summarise the article. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section

Happy to discuss Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 05:37, 3 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Citation style

Hello all

The article uses various citation styles which results in confusion. If there are no objections, I intend to progressively move to the short footnote (sfnp) style which is one of the simplest and most commonly used. I will also tidy up the Further Reading section which doesn't use a consistent format and looks messy.

Happy to discuss Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 06:01, 3 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Info box

Hello all

I have removed the content about White's military service from the info box in accordance with the discussion above. I have also cut the notable works to a few and removed the link to the "List of Works" section which policy does not recommend Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Infoboxes.

Happy to discuss, particularly if you think other notable works should be mentioned. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 06:32, 3 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Legacy

Hello all

I have expanded this section and changed the heading to "Influence and Legacy". I have combined it with the former section "Commemoration" which was about one garden named after White. I have used more concise wording and have added reliable sources for previously unsourced material. I have tried to make the section an overview of White's legacy and continued influence rather than a random collection of dated news items.

Happy to discuss Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 05:12, 4 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Awards and honours

Hello all

I have expanded the list of awards White received. I have presented the information more concisely and have removed some editorial comment about the reason White resigned from the Order of Australia which is discussed elsewhere in the article.

Happy to discuss Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 23:01, 4 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Religious and political views

Hello all

I have changed the heading Private Life to Religious and Political views as this better reflects the content. I have expanded the content and changed some of the wording of existing content to more accurately reflect the cited sources. I have moved content about religious themes in White's writing to the themes and style section where it more logically belongs.

Happy to discuss. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 03:27, 6 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Nobel laureate

Hello all

I have added a section on White's life and career from the Nobel Prize in 1973. Marr and White himself said the Nobel Prize was a turning point in his career so it is logical to make this period a separate section. I have replaced unsourced and poorly sourced content with reliably sourced content. I have replaced some tangential content about other people with more detail on White's life and work during the period.

Happy to discuss. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 01:18, 10 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Return to Australia

Hello all

I have changed the heading to Return to Australia as White always said his return was a turning point in his life. I have expanded the content. I have replaced unsourced and pooly sourced content with reliably sourced content. I have replaced some tangential content about other people with more detail on White's life and work during the period.

Happy to discuss. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 02:08, 19 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Europe, America and war

Hello all

I have changed the heading from "Travelling the World" to Europe, America and war". The previous heading sounded like White was on a long holiday rather than working and fighting Nazis. I have expanded the content. I have replaced unsourced and pooly sourced content with reliably sourced content. I have corrected some errors of fact and replaced some tangential content.

Happy to discuss. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 23:54, 20 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Childhood and adolescence

Hello all

I have replaced some poorly sourced and tangential information with more reliably sourced detail about White's troubled relationship with his mother and about his early unpublished novels. I have consistently used short footnote citations.

Happy to discuss. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 04:28, 22 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Meade?

'White, in contrast, disliked Meade's approach to Voss but was enthusiastic about the production of Signal Driver.' Who is Meade? Is it Richard Meale that is meant? 2401:D006:A202:7E00:AC5C:AF68:608D:865B (talk) 00:41, 4 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for pointing that out. Typo corrected. Aemilius Adolphin (talk) 01:02, 4 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]