Robbie Coburn is an Australian poet.

Biography

Coburn was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

in 1994 and grew up on his family's farm in

Woodstock, Victoria Woodstock is a bounded semi-rural locality in Victoria, Australia, located just north of Melbourne's outer suburbs, located within the City of Whittlesea local government area. Woodstock recorded a population of 150 at the . Australian conte ...

.
''Overland Emerging poet series: Robbie Coburn'', 2 July 2023 He began writing poetry at the age of 14, influenced by the works of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

. Coburn has severe depression, and has struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

and

self-harm Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilati ...

, topics frequently explored in his work.
''Dirty Laundry: The Art of Confessional Writing, Meanjin'', 2 July 2023

Career

Coburn is the author of two volumes of poetry, ''Rain Season'' (2013), and ''The Other Flesh'' (2019).
''Horrors and Hay: Les Wicks Reviews ‘Rain Season’ by Robbie Coburn'', 2 July 2023 He has also published a number of

chapbooks A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookl ...

and

zines A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very sma ...

. Robert Adamson noted that Coburn’s poems “come from tough experiences, yet are created with a muscular craft that glows with alert intelligence”.
''UWA Publishing'', 2 July 2023 His first published poem appeared in anarchist poet

Pi O П. O. (or Pi O, born 1951) is a Greek- Australian, working class, anarchist poet. Born in Katerini, Greece, П. O. came to Australia with his family around 1954. After time in Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre, the family moved to ...

's literary journal ''Unusual Work'' when he was 17 years old
''AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource'', 19 May 2014 and he has since been published in many journals and magazines, including Poetry magazine, ''Poetry'', ''

Meanjin ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is an Australian literary magazine. The name is derived from the Turrbal word for the spike of land where the city of Brisbane is located. It was founded in 1940 in Brisban ...

'', ''Island'' and ''Westerly''. Some of his poems have also been included in major anthologies, such as ''Writing to the Wire'' (

UWA Publishing UWA Publishing, formerly known as the Text Books Board and then University of Western Australia Press, is a Western Australian publisher established in 1935 by the University of Western Australia. It produces a range of non-fiction and fiction t ...

, 2016) and ''To End All Wars'' (Puncher & Wattmann, 2018). Additionally, Coburn’s

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, ...

has been published widely,
''Australian Haiku Society: selection and comments by Simon Hanson on Robbie Coburn’s work'', 2 July 2023 including in ''Modern Haiku'', ''The Heron’s Nest'' and ''Frogpond'', the journal of the

Haiku Society of America The Haiku Society of America is a non-profit organization composed of haiku poets, editors, critics, publishers and enthusiasts that promotes the composition and appreciation of haiku in English. Founded in 1968, it is the largest society dedicate ...

. His work was selected for inclusion in ''a hole in the light: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2018'', edited by

Jim Kacian James Michael Kacian (born July 26, 1953) is an American haiku poet, editor, publisher, and public speaker. He has lived in London, Nashville, Bridgton (Maine) and now resides in Winchester, Virginia. Life and brief chronology Kacian was born i ...

.
''The Haiku Foundation'', 2 July 2023 Coburn has given featured readings at

The Wheeler Centre The Wheeler Centre, originally Centre of Books, Writing and Ideas, is a literary and publishing centre founded as part of Melbourne's bid to be a Unesco Creative City of Literature, which designation it earned in 2008. It is named after its pat ...

and La Mama Poetica and has appeared as a guest at literary festivals such as the

Sydney Writers' Festival The Sydney Writers' Festival is an annual literary festival held in Sydney, with the inaugural festival taking place in 1997. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The festival's interim artistic director sinc ...

, Canberra Writers Festival, Newcastle Writers Festival and Perth Poetry Festival. In 2021, Coburn published "Home for the Rodeo", an essay detailing his struggles with alcoholism and self-harm, and his love of the sport of rodeo.
''Home for the Rodeo by Robbie Coburn'', 27 October 2021 Coburn founded and runs the small press Horsewound.

Bibliography

Poetry collections

*''Ghost Poetry'' (2024) *''The Other Flesh'' (2019) *''Rain Season'' (2013) ;List of poems
"Shock Lessons, a Paddock Scripture"
''Poetry'', May 2016

Discography

Solo

*''Horse Songs'' (2024)

With TVISB

*''Womb'' (2023)

References

External links

Official websitePoetry Foundation
profile
Poem
in

Profile at The Haiku Foundation

Horsewound website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coburn, Robbie Living people Australian poets 1994 births People with mood disorders Writers from Melbourne People from the City of Whittlesea