Robert Adamson (17 May 1943 – 16 December 2022) was an Australian poet and publisher.
Biography
Born in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Adamson grew up in
Neutral Bay
Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.
Neutral Bay takes ...
and spent much of his teenage years in
Gosford Boys Home for juvenile offenders. He discovered poetry while educating himself in
gaol
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cri ...
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. But also American poets such as
Robert Duncan and
Robert Creeley were important and influential contemporaries.
In the 1970s and 1980s, he edited ''New Poetry'' magazine 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 until 2002.
In 2011 he won the
Patrick White Award and the
Blake Poetry Prize.
Adamson was appointed the inaugural CAL chair of poetry at UTS (
University of Technology, Sydney) in 2012.
Death
Adamson died in palliative care (Neringah Hospital), Wahroonga, New South Wales
on 16 December 2022, at the age of 79.
Works
Poetry
*''Canticles on the Skin''. (Sydney: Illumination Press, 1970)
*''Cross The Border''. (Sydney: New Poetry, 1977 and
Hale & Iremonger, 1982)
*''Selected Poems''. (Sydney:
Angus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...
, 1977)
*''Where I Come From''. (Sydney: Big Smoke, 1979)
*''The Clean Dark''. (Sydney: Paper Bark, 1989)
*''Waving to Hart Crane''. (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1994)
*''Black Water: Approaching Zukofsky''. (Sydney: Brandl & Schlesinger, 1999)
*''Mulberry Leaves: New & Selected Poems 1970-2001''. (2001)
*''Reading the River: Selected Poems'' (
Bloodaxe Books
Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry.
History
Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...
, UK, 2004)
*''The Goldfinches of Baghdad''. (Flood Editions, USA, 2006)
*''The Golden Bird: New and Selected Poems'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2008)
*''The Kingfisher's Soul'' (
Bloodaxe Books
Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry.
History
Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...
, UK, 2009)
*''Empty Your Eyes''. (Vagabond Press, 2013)
*''Net Needle''. (Black Inc, 2015) . (Flood Editions, USA, 2015) . (
Bloodaxe Books
Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry.
History
Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...
, UK, 2016)
*''Garden Poem''
*''Reaching Light: Selected Poems'' (Flood Editions, USA, 2020)
Autobiography
*''Zimmer's Essay''. With Bruce Hanford (Sydney:
Wild & Woolley, 1974)
*''Wards of the State''. (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1992)
*''Inside Out''. (Text, 2004)
Awards
*1976:
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
The Grace Leven Prize for Poetry was an annual poetry award in Australia, 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 ...
for ''Selected Poems''
*1990:
C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry for ''The Clean Dark
''
*1990:
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry for ''The Clean Dark
''
*1990: The Turnbull-Fox-Phillips Award (The National Book Council Banjo Award) for ''The Clean Dark
''
*1994: FAW
Christopher Brennan Award for lifetime achievement in literature
*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
''
*2007: Grace Leven Prize for Poetry for ''The Goldfinches of Baghdad
''
*2011:
Patrick White Award
References
External links
Robert Adamson Official WebsitePoems at Poetry International WebRobert Adamson takes part in The Poetry ObjectThe 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.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Robert
1943 births
2022 deaths
20th-century Australian poets
Poets from Sydney
People from the North Shore, Sydney
Australian autobiographers
Australian publishers (people)
Patrick White Award winners
Australian male poets
21st-century Australian poets
20th-century Australian male writers
21st-century Australian male writers