Alan Wearne (born 23 July 1948) is an Australian poet.
Early life and education
Alan Wearne was born on 23 July 1948 and grew up 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 met ...
. He studied history at
Monash University
Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...
, where he met the poets
Laurie Duggan
Laurence James Duggan (born 1949), known as Laurie Duggan, is an Australian poet, editor, and translator.
Life
Laurie Duggan was born in Melbourne and attended Monash University, where his friends included the poets Alan Wearne and John A. Sc ...
and
John A. Scott.
He was involved in the
Poets Union.
Career
After publishing two collections of poetry, he wrote a
verse novel
A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voice ...
, ''The Nightmarkets'' (1986), which won the Australian Book Council
Banjo Award and was adapted for performance with Monash University Student Theatre.
His next book in the same genre, ''The Lovemakers'', won the
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry and the
NSW Premier's Book of the Year in 2002,
as well as the
Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe Award. The first half of the novel was published by
Penguin
Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
, and its second by the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
in 2004 as ''The Lovemakers: Book Two, Money and Nothing'' and co-won The Foundation for Australian Literary Studies'
Colin Roderick Award
The Colin Roderick Award is presented annually by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at Queensland's James Cook University for "the best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life". It was first presente ...
and the H. T. Priestly Medal. Despite this critical success neither book was promoted properly and both volumes ended up being pulped. Shearsman Press in the UK has since republished the book in a single volume.
''These Things Are Real'' was published in 2017 by Giramondo Publishing.
Wearne lectured in Creative Writing at the
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...
until 2016.
Books
* ''Public Relations'' (1972)
* ''New Devil, New Parish'' (1976)
* ''The Nightmarkets'' (Penguin, 1986)
* ''Out Here'' (Newcastle upon Tyne :
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 ...
1987)
* ''Kicking In Danger'' (
Black Pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...
1997)
review* ''The Lovemakers: Book One, Saying All The Great Sexy Things'' (Penguin, 2001)
* ''The Lovemakers: Book Two, Money and Nothing'' (ABC, 2004)
* ''Sarsaparilla A Calypso'' (Polar Bear Press, 2007)
* ''The Australian Popular Songbook'' ( Giramondo 2008)
*''Prepare the Cabin for Landing'' ( Giramondo 2012)
* ''These Things Are Real'' ( Giramondo 2017)
References
Further reading
ALM Australian Literature Resources : Alan Wearne Contents page
excerpts etc.
External links
*
Literary papers at UNSW Collections, Canberra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wearne, Alan
1948 births
Writing teachers
Living people
Poets from Melbourne
Monash University alumni
University of Wollongong faculty
ALS Gold Medal winners