Greg McLaren (born 1967) is an Australian poet. Born in Kurri Kurri, he moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1990 where he studied at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and in 2005 he was awarded a PhD in Australian Literature. His thesis was on

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

influences on the Australian poets Harold Stewart, Robert Gray and Judith Beveridge. As well as poetry, he has published reviews and criticism. Julieanne Lamond writes in '' Southerly'' that "McLaren attempts to find a stable connection between the Buddhist acceptance in the face of unknowing ... and the anger and drama of his sense of history". McLaren's work has been anthologised almost widely. His poems appear in Noel Rowe and Vivian Smith's ''Windchimes: Asia in Australian Poetry'' (Pandanus Press, 2006), ''Australian Poetry from 1788'' (edited by Robert Gray and Geoffrey Lehmann), ''A Slow Combusting Hymn'' (edited by Kit Kelen and Jean Kent) and ''Contemporary Australian Poetry'' (edited by Martin Langford, Judith Beveridge, Judy Johnson and David Musgrave). His work was shortlisted in the Newcastle Poetry Prize in 1999, 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022. ''Windfall'' contains a series of often very loose adaptations of other poets' work, notably

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

poets

Du Fu Du Fu (; 712–770) was a Tang dynasty poet and politician. Along with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai (Li Po), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets.Ebrey, 103. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as ...

, Li Bai, Wang Wei and

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...

, as well as more contemporary English-language poets such as William Carlos Williams, Charles Wright,

Chase Twichell Chase Twichell (born August 20, 1950) is an American poet, professor, publisher, and, in 1999, the founder of Ausable Press. Her most recent poetry collection is ''Things as It Is'' (Copper Canyon Press, 2018). ''Horses Where the Answers Should Ha ...

Caroline Caddy Caroline Mavis Caddy (born 20 January 1944) is an Australian poet. Biography Born in Western Australia to an Australian mother and an American father, Caroline Mavis Caddy spent part of her childhood in the United States and Japan. She returne ...

and Judith Beveridge. His seventh book, ''camping underground'', is a post-apocalyptic/dystopian verse novel set in and around Cessnock in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

. Of it, novelist Fiona McFarlane writes that "McLaren has written the Great Australian Apocalypse. camping underground is a vernacular lament for our country’s past, present, and possible futures, but it never succumbs to cynicism: it feels urgent, affectionate, and beautiful, full of despair and love and a biting sense of humour. I read it in one sitting, completely spellbound, and it made my heart both shrink and stretch." Former Cessnock writer John Hughes writes that "McLaren’s verse grabs you like an accident, like the blood smell of metallic paint, or the flecks of hair and scalp behind a twisted steering wheel. His country towns, like his Australia, are human versions of a wrecker’s yard, as if all the violence and unlived life of their inhabitants concentrated in that instant before death and exploded. This poem is a record of that explosion."

Pam Brown Pamela Jane Barclay Brown (born 1948) is an Australian poet. Career Pam Brown was born in Seymour, Victoria. Most of her childhood was spent on military bases in Toowoomba and Brisbane. Since her early twenties, she has lived in Melbourne a ...

calls ''camping underground'' "a daring and brilliant work".

Bibliography

Poetry

;Collections * *''Darkness Disguised'' (

Sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick ...

, 2002) *''The Kurri Kurri Book of the Dead'' ( Puncher & Wattmann, 2007) *''After Han Shan'' (

Flying Islands Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ''Flying'' (UFO album), 1971 * ''F ...

, 2012) *''Australian ravens'' ( Puncher & Wattmann, 2016) *''Windfall'' ( Puncher & Wattmann, 2018) *''camping underground'' ( Puncher & Wattmann, 2022) ;List of poems

References

1967 births Living people Australian poets Writers from Sydney People from Kurri Kurri Quadrant (magazine) people University of Sydney alumni {{Australia-poet-stub