R. A. Simpson
Encyclopedia
Ronald Albert Simpson was an Australian poet and poetry editor, artist and art lecturer. He was one of the Melbourne poets, and had a long tenure as poetry editor of The Age
.
and studied art under George Bell
. He taught at schools in England and Australia. In 1968 he was appointed lecturer in art at Melbourne's Chisholm Institute of Technology. He retired in 1987, and died in 2002.
, Vincent Buckley
, Noel Macainsh, and Alexander Craig
, who came together in the 1960s and 1970s. Gorton writes that this was "a combative time in Australian poetry" with different "cliques" operating, including the Jindyworobaks
, the New Poets and the Melbourne poets The Melbourne poets were "deliberately prosaic ... finding their poetry in suburbs and ordinary days". Poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe reiterated this in his obituary of Simpson in The Age
on 10 October 2002. He wrote that Simpson "was a poet who put the Australian suburbs on the map. Verse had long been under the thumb of the landed gentry and Sydney quasi-bohemians, but he stuck resolutely, quietly, diurnally to the way most of us live". Gorton qualifies this, though, by writing that Simpson's poetry's strength is that it is "at once so commonplace and odd", providing an artist's "skewed perspective on familiar happenings". Gorton suggests too, that his poetry is extroverted rather than inward-looking, that it can be "comic and lugubrious, ponderous and terse", and that he can turn his analysis on himself.
His first book of poetry Walk along the beach was published in 1960, and was followed by another 10 volumes over the next four decades. His last work was published posthumously. He and Chris Wallace-Crabbe both used the pseudonym "Gillian Bianchini".
Simpson was poetry editor of The Bulletin
(1963–65), following Vincent Buckley
, and of The Age
(1969–97). He received the Christopher Brennan Award
from the Fellowship of Australian Writers
in 1992.
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
.
Life
Simpson was born in Melbourne. He studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of TechnologyRMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
and studied art under George Bell
George Bell (painter)
George Frederick Henry Bell was an Australian painter.He was born in Kew, Victoria, the son of George Bell, a public servant, and educated at Kew High School. He studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School from 1895-1903...
. He taught at schools in England and Australia. In 1968 he was appointed lecturer in art at Melbourne's Chisholm Institute of Technology. He retired in 1987, and died in 2002.
Writing career
Simpson was one of a group of Melbourne poets, including Chris Wallace-CrabbeChris Wallace-Crabbe
Chris Wallace-Crabbe AO is an Australian poet and Emeritus Professor in The Australian Centre, University of Melbourne.-Biography:...
, Vincent Buckley
Vincent Buckley
Vincent Thomas Buckley was an Australian poet, teacher, editor, essayist and critic.-Life:He was born in 1925 in Romsey, Victoria and was educated at both the University of Melbourne and the :University of Cambridge, and died in Melbourne in 1988..Buckley edited the magazine, Prospect, from 1958...
, Noel Macainsh, and Alexander Craig
Alexander George Craig
Alexander George Craig was an author and poet, who wrote extensively about banned books. Craig was interested more generally in sexual behaviour and reform, and was also engaged with the socialist movement...
, who came together in the 1960s and 1970s. Gorton writes that this was "a combative time in Australian poetry" with different "cliques" operating, including the Jindyworobaks
Jindyworobak Movement
The Jindyworobak Movement was a nationalistic Australian literary movement whose white members sought to promote indigenous Australian ideas and customs, particularly in poetry. They were active from the 1930s to around the 1950s...
, the New Poets and the Melbourne poets The Melbourne poets were "deliberately prosaic ... finding their poetry in suburbs and ordinary days". Poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe reiterated this in his obituary of Simpson in The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
on 10 October 2002. He wrote that Simpson "was a poet who put the Australian suburbs on the map. Verse had long been under the thumb of the landed gentry and Sydney quasi-bohemians, but he stuck resolutely, quietly, diurnally to the way most of us live". Gorton qualifies this, though, by writing that Simpson's poetry's strength is that it is "at once so commonplace and odd", providing an artist's "skewed perspective on familiar happenings". Gorton suggests too, that his poetry is extroverted rather than inward-looking, that it can be "comic and lugubrious, ponderous and terse", and that he can turn his analysis on himself.
His first book of poetry Walk along the beach was published in 1960, and was followed by another 10 volumes over the next four decades. His last work was published posthumously. He and Chris Wallace-Crabbe both used the pseudonym "Gillian Bianchini".
Simpson was poetry editor of The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
(1963–65), following Vincent Buckley
Vincent Buckley
Vincent Thomas Buckley was an Australian poet, teacher, editor, essayist and critic.-Life:He was born in 1925 in Romsey, Victoria and was educated at both the University of Melbourne and the :University of Cambridge, and died in Melbourne in 1988..Buckley edited the magazine, Prospect, from 1958...
, and of The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
(1969–97). He received the Christopher Brennan Award
Christopher Brennan Award
The Christopher Brennan Award is an Australian award given for lifetime achievement in poetry. The award, established circa 1976, takes the form of a bronze plaque; it recognizes a poet who produces work of "sustained quality and distinction"...
from the Fellowship of Australian Writers
Fellowship of Australian Writers
The Fellowship of Australian Writers, also known as FAW, was established in Sydney in 1928. Its aim is to bring writers together and promote their interests...
in 1992.