John Devaney

I am a writer with varied interests and a number of ongoing projects. My main work has involved researching and writing about the history of Australian football, with my chief aim being to endeavour to bring to life the ways in which it was viewed and portrayed in the past, in contrast to the way in which it is propagandised today. I also write fiction which I would say is primarily influenced by, though by no means of anywhere near the same quality as, the work of the Australian writers Christina Stead and Patrick White. My principal single influence, on all my work, both fiction and non-fiction, is the novel "For Love Alone" by Christina Stead, which summarises my world view more eloquently and indeed accurately than I could ever hope to myself.