Martin Johnston was an Australian poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and novelist.

Martin Johnston was born in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 in November 1947, son of the writers George Johnston

George Johnston (novelist)

George Johnston OBE was an Australian journalist, war correspondent and novelist, best known for My Brother Jack. His second wife and literary collaborator was Charmian Clift.-Life:...

 and Charmian Clift

Charmian Clift

Charmian Clift was an Australian writer and essayist during the mid 20th century. She was the second wife and literary collaborator of George Johnston.-Biography:...

. His early childhood was spent in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. In 1954 the family moved to Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. They returned to England in 1960 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in 1964.

In the mid to late 1970s he lived and travelled with Australian writer, Nadia Wheatley

Nadia Wheatley

Nadia Wheatley is an award winning Australian writer of children’s fiction and non-fiction, adult non-fiction and biographies, and newspaper and journal articles. Her works often focus on "the difficulties faced by Aborigines or non-English-speaking newcomers to Australia, ... environmental issues...

. They lived and wrote in Greece from 1975-77, and travelled through Europe before returning to Australian in 1978.

In October 1982 he married Roseanne Bonney, and they lived in Darlinghurst, Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. He died on 21 June 1990.

Works

• shadowmass. (Sydney University Arts Society, 1971) [poems]
• Ithaka: Modern Greek Poetry in Translation. (Island Press, 1973) [novel]
• The Sea-Cucumber. (University of Queensland Press, 1978) [poems]
• Cicada Gambit. (Hale & Iremonger, 1983) [novel]
• The Typewriter Considered as a Bee-Trap. (Hale & Iremonger, 1985) [poems]
• Martin Johnston: Selected Poems and Prose. (UQP, 1993)