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 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 ...

, 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 (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...

in his 20s. His first book, ''Canticles on the Skin'', was published in 1970. He acknowledges the influence of, among others,

Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

, Mallarmé, Robert Duncan, and

Hart Crane Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Provoked and inspired by T. S. Eliot, Crane wrote modernist poetry that was difficult, highly stylized, and ambitious in its scope. In his most ambitious work, '' The Brid ...

upon his writing. In the 1970s and 1980s, he edited ''New Poetry'' magazine and established Paper Bark Press in 1986 with his partner, photographer

Juno Gemes Juno Gemes (born 1944) is a Hungarian-born Australian activist and photographer, best known for her photography of Aboriginal Australians.Michael Wilding Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, '' Under Capric ...

, 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 The Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize. The $25,000 cash award is given to a writer who has been highly creative o ...

and the

Blake Poetry Prize The Blake Poetry Prize is an Australian poetry prize for a new work of 100 lines or less, focused on non-sectarian spiritual and religious topics, connected to the Blake Prize, an art prize. The prize, worth , is presented biennially by the Casu ...

. Adamson was appointed the inaugural CAL chair of poetry at UTS (

University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

) in 2012. Adamson died on 16 December 2022, at the age of 79.

Works

Poetry

*''Canticles on the Skin''. (Sydney: Illumination Press, 1970) *''Cross The Border''. (Sydney: Hale & Iremonger, 1977) *''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'' (

, UK, 2009) *''Empty Your Eyes''. (Vagabond Press, 2013) *''Net Needle''. (Black Inc, 2015) . (Flood Editions, USA, 2015) . (

, 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 benefactres ...

for ''Selected Poems'' *1990:

C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry The Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry, formerly known as the C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry, is a prize category in the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Award. As of 2011 it has an enumeration of 25,000. The winner of this category prize vies w ...

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 The Christopher Brennan Award (formerly known as the Robert Frost Prize) is an Australian award given for lifetime achievement in poetry. The award, established in 1973, takes the form of a bronze plaque which is presented to a poet who produces w ...

for lifetime achievement in literature *2004: New South Wales Premier's History Award for ''Inside Out'' *2007:

The Age Book of the Year ''The Age'' Book of the Year Awards were annual literary awards presented by Melbourne's ''The Age'' newspaper. The awards were first presented in 1974. After 1998, they were presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival. Initially, two awar ...

Poetry Prize for ''The Goldfinches of Baghdad'' *2007: Grace Leven Prize for Poetry for ''The Goldfinches of Baghdad'' *2011:

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