David John Lake, the Indian-born Australian Author

One of the notable authors in Australian science fiction is David John Lake. He was born on March 26, 1929 in Bangalore, India. Aside from being a science fiction writer, he was also a poet and a literary critic.

David studied in St. Xavier’s School in Calcutta from 1940 until 1944, where he received his Jesuit education. Originally, he was a U.K. citizen, where he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1952 and in 1956, his Master of Arts. He continued to study at University College of North Wales, and in 1956 he was awarded a diploma in linguistics. Afterwards, David studied at the University of Queensland, receiving his Doctor of Philosophy in 1974. After a year, he became a naturalised Australian citizen.

During his early career as a literary critic, he wrote his book ‘Style and Meaning’ published by Queensland University Press in 1971 and in 1975, he also became known for his book ‘The Canon of Thomas Middleton's Plays’ from Cambridge University Press. In Australia, David published several poetry collections including magazines. He published the magazines entitled ‘Westerly,’ ‘Southerly,’ and ‘Makar.’ In 1971, he published his ‘Portnoyad,’ and his poetry collections, ‘Hornpipes’ and ‘Funerals,’ were published in 1973. His science fiction writing began in 1976. His famous work ‘The Man who Loved Morlocks,’ a sequel to ‘The Time Machine,’ was published in 1981.

ince 1989, David became essentially inactive in the field of writing. His short story entitled ‘The Truth about Weena,’ won the Ditmar Award in 1999