Robert Adamson (poet)
Robert Adamson (17 May 1943 – 16 December 2022) was an Australian poet and publisher.[1][2]
Robert Adamson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 May 1943 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 16 December 2022 (aged 79) Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Spouse | Juno Gemes |
| Website | |
| www | |
Biography edit
Born in Sydney, Adamson grew up in Neutral Bay and spent much of his teenage years in Gosford Boys Home for juvenile offenders. He discovered poetry while educating himself in gaol in his 20s. His first book, Canticles on the Skin, was published in 1970. He acknowledges the influence of, among others, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, and Hart Crane upon his writing.[citation needed] But also American poets such as Robert Duncan and Robert Creeley were important and influential contemporaries.[3]
In the 1970s and 1980s, he edited New Poetry magazine[4] and established Paper Bark Press in 1986 with his partner, photographer Juno Gemes, and writer Michael Wilding, which published Australian poetry. Wilding left the company in 1990, and Gemes and Adamson continued to run the company[5] until 2002.[6]
In 2011 he won the Patrick White Award[7] and the Blake Poetry Prize.[8]
Adamson was appointed the inaugural CAL chair of poetry at UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) in 2012.[9]
Death edit
Adamson died in palliative care (Neringah Hospital), Wahroonga, New South Wales[3] on 16 December 2022,[10] at the age of 79.[11][12]
Works edit
Poetry edit
- Canticles on the Skin. (Sydney: Illumination Press, 1970)
- Cross The Border. (Sydney: New Poetry, 1977 and Hale & Iremonger, 1982) ISBN 0-86806-050-X
- Selected Poems. (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1977) ISBN 0-207-13515-0
- Where I Come From. (Sydney: Big Smoke, 1979) ISBN 0-908201-00-1
- The Clean Dark. (Sydney: Paper Bark, 1989) ISBN 0-9587801-2-9
- Waving to Hart Crane. (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1994) ISBN 0-207-18347-3 [13]
- Black Water: Approaching Zukofsky. (Sydney: Brandl & Schlesinger, 1999) ISBN 1-876040-14-9
- Mulberry Leaves: New & Selected Poems 1970-2001. (2001) ISBN 1-876749-48-2 [14]
- Reading the River: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, UK, 2004) ISBN 978-1-85224-639-6
- The Goldfinches of Baghdad. (Flood Editions, USA, 2006) ISBN 0-9746902-8-7 [15]
- The Golden Bird: New and Selected Poems (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2008) ISBN 978-1-86395-287-3
- The Kingfisher's Soul (Bloodaxe Books, UK, 2009) ISBN 978-1-85224-820-8
- Empty Your Eyes. (Vagabond Press, 2013)
- Net Needle. (Black Inc, 2015) ISBN 978-1-86395-731-1. (Flood Editions, USA, 2015) ISBN 978-0-9903407-1-3. (Bloodaxe Books, UK, 2016) ISBN 978-1-78037-301-0
- Garden Poem
- Reaching Light: Selected Poems (Flood Editions, USA, 2020) ISBN 978-1733273428
Autobiography edit
- Zimmer's Essay. With Bruce Hanford (Sydney: Wild & Woolley, 1974) ISBN 0-909331-02-2
- Wards of the State. (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1992) ISBN 0-207-17404-0
- Inside Out. (Text, 2004) ISBN 1-920885-60-9 [16]
Awards edit
- 1976: Grace Leven Prize for Poetry for Selected Poems[17]
- 1990: C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry for The Clean Dark[17]
- 1990: Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry for The Clean Dark[17]
- 1990: The Turnbull-Fox-Phillips Award (The National Book Council Banjo Award) for The Clean Dark[17]
- 1994: FAW Christopher Brennan Award for lifetime achievement in literature[17]
- 2004: New South Wales Premier's History Award for Inside Out
- 2007: The Age Book of the Year Poetry Prize for The Goldfinches of Baghdad[17]
- 2007: Grace Leven Prize for Poetry for The Goldfinches of Baghdad[17]
- 2011: Patrick White Award[17]
References edit
- ^ Robert Adamson. "Poetry of Robert Adamson > Woodland Pattern Book Center". Woodlandpattern.org. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ "Poetry International Web - Robert Adamson". Australia.poetryinternationalweb.org. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ a b "News And Publicity | Bloodaxe Books". www.bloodaxebooks.com.
- ^ "New Poetry". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- ^ "Paper Bark Press". AustLit. 10 March 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ Lea, Bronwyn (14 May 2013). "Poetry publishing in Australia". Bronwyn Lea. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ . canberratimes.com.au. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ "Blake Poetry Prize". AustLit. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ "Adamson named first CAL Chair in Australian Poetry at UTS". Books+Publishing. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- ^ "Robert Adamson Memorial Service Friday 13th January 2023, 1.15pm (AEDT) Live Streaming Details". 11 January 2023.
- ^ "Robert Adamson, the poet of the Hawkesbury River, dies at 79". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- ^ Burke, Tony (16 December 2022). "Statement on death of Robert Adamson". The Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for the Arts. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ Giles Hugo; Anne Kellas, eds. (9 January 2003). "Bob Adamson Waving to Hart Crane". The-write-stuff.com.au. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 16 January 2005.
- ^ "Peter Riley reviews Robert Adamson".
- ^ "Robert Adamson". Black Inc. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Robert Adamson". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
External links edit
- Robert Adamson Official Website
- The Flow Through: for the Johns
- Poems at Poetry International Web
- Interview with Robert Adamson
- Reviews at Australian Literature Resources
- Robert Adamson takes part in The Poetry Object
- The Grace of Accuracy – Imagination and the Details Necessary: Robert Adamson on Poetry - a lecture Robert Adamson gave as CAL Chair of Australian Poetry at the University of Technology Sydney.