[Vance Palmer, Australian poet and critic.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Vance Palmer') to an unnamed correspondent, discussing his political work, and praising writing by Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy and J. M. Synge.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. 72 lines of text. For more about Palmer, see his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. The start of the letter indicates its tone: 'Dear old man, | I was exceedingly glad to get your interesting newsy letter last week - more glad than I can say. The "New Age" did not turn up, for which I was sorry as I was looking forward to seeing the good old paper again, but this writing of Bernard Shaw for the "Pall Mall Gazette" delighted me. What a splendid dialectician he is! He fairly made mincemeat of Dr S<?>, and yet he only did it by sound commonsense. Was glad to hear you had joined the Fabian Society. You will be to hear some splendid speakers there, and besides it is good to be in the thick of the movement. So Edgar Jepson has rehabilitated himself in your opinion! I think he must have written it was a lotus life - a life to sweep the cobwebs out of your hair'. He has been 'slogging in at election work (Our State elections are on Feb 4th.)', and thinks 'there are prospects of getting 30 Socialists in a House of 72'. He praises a 'good article of Shaw's in the Xmas Cosmopolitan "A Nation of Villages" [published in 1907] - meaning the Americans of course'. He praises Galsworthy's 'The Country House' (1907) and Synge's 'Playboy of the Western World' (1907), describing the latter as 'one of the best plays written in the last ten years'. He concludes by stating that he is 'rioting' in good weather: 'I think I could really turn out more copy in murky old London. And I must close this short epistle as I have to rush for the English mail. Next time I will send a long letter and give you all the news.' A postscript suggests swapping photographic portraits.