WATEN, JUDAH

WATEN, JUDAH (1911–1985), Australian novelist and critic. Born in Odessa, Waten was taken to Ereẓ Israel shortly after his birth, but in 1914 the family immigrated to Australia. An active anti-Fascist, he did much during and after World War ii to assist refugees seeking a haven in Australia. He was a fervent Communist, and some of his journalistic work was devoted to cultural aspects of left-wing politics. Unlike many intellectuals who supported Communism, Waten became closer to the Soviet Union after 1956. His political writings were often viewed as propaganda, especially his repeated denials of Soviet antisemitism.

Several of his novels deal with Jewish characters and settings. His best-known work, Alien Son (1952), was one of the first Australian novels to deal with Jewish themes and is seen as a landmark in Australian literature. He also wrote The Unbending (1954), Distant Land (1962), and From Odessa to Odessa (1969). Three other novels were Shares in Murder (1957), A Time of Conflict (1961), and Season of Youth (1966). Waten was an important literary critic and also translated works by Hertz *Bergner and Pinchas *Goldhar from Yiddish into English. His own novels have been translated into Russian, German, Dutch, and Chinese. Although an anti-Zionist, Waten retained his links with the Jewish community. He published an autobiography, Scenes of a Revolutionary Life, in 1982.

bibliography:

J. Hetherington, Forty-two Faces (1962), 153–8. add. bibliography: W.D. Rubinstein, Australia ii, index; D. Carter, A Career in Writing: Judah Waten and the Cultural Politics of a Literary Career (1997); idem, Judah Waten: Fiction, Memoirs, Criticism (1998).

[Greer Fay Cashman /

William D. Rubinstein (2^nd ed.)]