Robert Gray (poet)
Encyclopedia
Robert William Geoffrey Gray (born 23 February 1945) is an Australia
n poet
, freelance writer, and critic
.
and was educated in a country town on the north coast of New South Wales
. He trained there as a journalist, and since then has worked in Sydney
as an editor, advertising copywriter, reviewer and buyer for bookshops. His first book of poems, Creekwater Journal, was published in 1973.
Gray has been a writer-in-residence at Meiji University
in Tokyo
and at several universities throughout Australia including Geelong College in 1982. He has won the Adelaide Arts Festival and the New South Wales and Victorian Premiers' Awards for poetry. In 1990 he received the Patrick White Award
. With Geoffrey Lehmann
, he edited two anthologies
, The Younger Australian Poets and Australian Poetry in the Twentieth Century, and he is the editor of Selected Poems by Shaw Neilson
, and Drawn from Life
, the journals of the painter John Olsen
. After Images is his latest collection of poetry.
2008 sees the much anticipated publication of his memoir, The Land I Came Through Last.
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...
n 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...
, freelance writer, and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
.
Biography
Gray grew up in Coffs HarbourCoffs Harbour, New South Wales
-History:By the early 1900s, the Coffs Harbour area had become an important timber production centre. Before the opening of the North Coast Railway Line, the only way to transport large items of heavy but low value, such as timber, was by coastal shipping. This meant sawmillers on the North Coast...
and was educated in a country town on the north coast of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. He trained there as a journalist, and since then has worked 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...
as an editor, advertising copywriter, reviewer and buyer for bookshops. His first book of poems, Creekwater Journal, was published in 1973.
Gray has been a writer-in-residence at Meiji University
Meiji University
is a private university in Tokyo and Kawasaki, founded in 1881 by three lawyers of the Meiji era, Kishimoto Tatsuo, Miyagi Kōzō, and Yashiro Misao. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Japanese universities in Tokyo, Japan....
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and at several universities throughout Australia including Geelong College in 1982. He has won the Adelaide Arts Festival and the New South Wales and Victorian Premiers' Awards for poetry. In 1990 he received the Patrick White Award
Patrick White Award
The Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize....
. With Geoffrey Lehmann
Geoffrey lehmann
Geoffrey Lehmann is an Australian poet, children's writer, and tax lawyer. Lehmann grew up in McMahon's Point, Sydney, and attended high school at the Shore School in North Sydney. He graduated in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney in 1960 and 1963 respectively...
, he edited two anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
, The Younger Australian Poets and Australian Poetry in the Twentieth Century, and he is the editor of Selected Poems by Shaw Neilson
Shaw Neilson
John Shaw Neilson , was an Australian poet. Slightlybuilt, for most of his life, John Shaw Neilson worked as a labourer, fruit-picking, clearing scrub, navvying and working in quarries, and, after 1928, working as a messenger with the Country Roads Board in Melbourne...
, and Drawn from Life
Drawn From Life
Drawn from Life is a 2001 music album by the British ambient musician Brian Eno and J. Peter Schwalm.-Track listing:# "From This Moment" – 1:21# "Persis" – 7:41# "Like Pictures Part 1" – 1:20# "Like Pictures Part 2" – 5:48# "Night Traffic" – 8:19...
, the journals of the painter John Olsen
John Olsen (artist)
John Henry Olsen, AO, OBE is an Australian artist. Olsen's primary subject of work is landscape.-Biography:John Olsen was born in Newcastle on 21 January 1928 and moved to Bondi Beach with his family in 1935, which began his lifelong fascination with Sydney Harbour...
. After Images is his latest collection of poetry.
2008 sees the much anticipated publication of his memoir, The Land I Came Through Last.
Awards
- 1986 - New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry for Selected Poems 1963-83
- 1986 - The Adelaide Festival of the Arts Award
- 1986 - The Grace Leven Prize for PoetryGrace Leven Prize for PoetryThe Grace Leven Prize for Poetry is an annual award given in the name of Grace Leven who died in 1922. It was established by William Baylebridge who "made a provision for an annual poetry prize in memory of 'my benefactress Grace Leven' and for the publication of his own work"...
- 1990 - Patrick White AwardPatrick White AwardThe Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize....
- 1994 - Victorian Premier's Literary AwardVictorian Premier's Literary AwardThe Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Governmentwith the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry....
- C. J. Dennis Prize for PoetryC. J. Dennis Prize for PoetryThe C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry is awarded annually as part of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, for a significant selection of new work by a poet published in a book. It is named after the early twentieth century vernacular poet C. J...
for Certain Things - 2002 - The Age Book of the Year Dinny O'Hearn Poetry Prize for Afterimages
- 2002 - Victorian Premier's Literary AwardVictorian Premier's Literary AwardThe Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Governmentwith the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry....
- C. J. Dennis Prize for PoetryC. J. Dennis Prize for PoetryThe C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry is awarded annually as part of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, for a significant selection of new work by a poet published in a book. It is named after the early twentieth century vernacular poet C. J...
for Afterimages
Collections
- Nameless Earth (Carcanet, 2006)
- Afterimages (Duffy & Snellgrove, 2002)
- New Selected Poems (Duffy & Snellgrove, 1998)
- Lineations (Duffy & Snellgrove , 1996)
- Certain Things (William Heinemann Australia, 1993)
- Selected Poems (Angus & Robertson, 1990)
- Piano (Angus & Robertson, 1988)
- Selected Poems 1963-1983 (Angus & Robertson, 1985)
- The Skylight (Angus & Robertson, 1984)
- Grass Script (Angus & Robertson, 1979)
- Creekwater Journal (University of Queensland Press, 1974)
- Introspect, Retrospect : Poems (Lyre-Bird Writers, c.1970)
Edited
- A Spill of Light, A Thrust of Shadow (Youngstreet Poets, 1999)
- Australian Poetry in the Twentieth Century (William Heinemann Australia, 1991) edited with Geoffrey LehmannGeoffrey lehmannGeoffrey Lehmann is an Australian poet, children's writer, and tax lawyer. Lehmann grew up in McMahon's Point, Sydney, and attended high school at the Shore School in North Sydney. He graduated in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney in 1960 and 1963 respectively...
- Sydney's Poems : A Selection on the Cccasion of the City's One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary 1842-1992 (Primavera Press, 1992) edited with Vivian SmithVivian SmithVivian Brian Smith is an Australian poet. He is considered one of the most lyrical and observant Australian poets of his generation....
- Selected Poems / Roland Robinson (Angus & Robertson, 1989)
- The Younger Australian poets (Hale & Iremonger, c1983) edited with Geoffrey LehmannGeoffrey lehmannGeoffrey Lehmann is an Australian poet, children's writer, and tax lawyer. Lehmann grew up in McMahon's Point, Sydney, and attended high school at the Shore School in North Sydney. He graduated in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney in 1960 and 1963 respectively...
Interviews
- "The Sydney Morning Herald" http://www.smh.com.au/news/books/poet-palely-loitering/2008/09/05/1220121498998.html