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Papers of Stephen E. Kelen
MSS 049

Collection Title

Papers of Stephen E. Kelen

Collection Identifier

MSS 049

Inclusive date(s)

1932 to 2001

Extent and Medium

12 boxes

Category

Literature

Subject: Person(s)

Collection Description

Radio plays, manuscripts, published material, galley proofs, correspondence, and autobiographical material of Stephen E. Kelen

Administrative / Biographical history

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Kelen

Hungarian-Australian sportsman, journalist, author and playwright Stephen E. Kelen (also known as Stephen Esteban Kelen) was born in Budapest in 1912. He studied philosophy at the Charles University in Prague and began writing professionally at the age of 17, first in Hungarian, then Czech and finally in English. During the 1920s and 1930s, he won seven gold medals at the World Table Tennis Championships. After travelling extensively across the globe, he settled in Australia, serving in the Australian army from 1939-1945. As a member of the 66th Australian Infantry Battalion (Intelligence), he served in New Guinea, Halmahera, North Borneo, and Japan.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Kelen wrote documentaries and features for ABC Radio on topics including literature, current affairs, and history. From 1960-1977 he was a managing editor at Goodyear, and president of the Sydney branch of PEN International from 1975-1985. Kelen won several awards for his short stories and plays, including the Warrandyte Arts Association Drama Group Original Australian Play Competition for his play Shadow of the Crabbe (1965).

References:
Austlit : Stephen Estaban Kelen https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A31197 retrieved 14 July 2020

Acquisition Details

Check with Curator

Scope and Content

The papers of Stephen E. Kelen comprise manuscript drafts, published articles, magazines, galley proofs, book reviews, correspondence, and autobiographical material. Drafts include dramas Goshu, (or, The Most Honourable Barbarian) (1965) and Shadow of the Crabbe (1965), and biography Who is My Enemy (1954). Several books and articles relate to Kelen's career as a table tennis champion.

System of arrangement

The numbering of the folders in this collection restarts at 1 in box 6

Access Restrictions

Other

Access: Check with Curator

This collection contains a variety of copyright material. Copyright is held by the creator of each item. Specific conditions for this collection are listed below. If no conditions are stipulated then the standard terms of the Copyright Act apply for published and unpublished items. Digitised material from manuscript collections is provided to clients by UNSW Canberra in good faith for private study and research only, and may not be published or re-purposed without the express and written permission of the individual legal holder of that copyright. Refer also to the UNSW copyright, disclaimer and takedown policy.

Copying: Check with Curator

Existence and Location of Orginals

Special Collections, UNSW Canberra

Related and Separated Materials

Related Material

The papers of Stephen E. Kelen's son, Stephen K. Kelen, are also held by Special Collections, UNSW Canberra at MSS 109.

Disclaimer

This collection contains a variety of copyright material. Copyright is held by the creator of each item. Specific conditions for this collection are listed above. If no conditions are stipulated then the standard terms of the Copyright Act apply for published and unpublished items. Digitised material from manuscript collections is provided to clients by UNSW Canberra in good faith for private study and research only, and may not be published or re-purposed without the express and written permission of the individual legal holder of that copyright. Refer also to the UNSW copyright, disclaimer and takedown policy.

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Items in Collection

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