Philip Ian Hodgins (28 January 1959 – 18 August 1995) was an Australian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, whose work appeared in such major publications as ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. The Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal for Literary Excellence is awarded annually at the Mildura Writers' Festival, which he co-founded.

Life

Philip Hodgins was born in Shepparton,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, in 1959 and spent his childhood on his parents' dairy farm at nearby Katandra West. He went to school in Geelong and later moved to

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 ...

where he worked for several years with a publishing house, before moving to Maryborough in central Victoria. Hodgins's experience of farm life is strongly present through much of his poetry. His verse novella ''Dispossessed'' describes the last weeks of a poor rural family about to be evicted from their farm. Hodgins also wrote about Australian Rules football. In November 1983 Hodgins was admitted to hospital and diagnosed as having chronic

myeloid leukaemia Myeloid leukemia is a type of leukemia affecting myeloid tissue. Types include: * Acute myeloid leukemia * Chronic myelogenous leukemia * Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia * Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm See also * Hematological m ...

, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. His experiences as a leukaemia patient form the subject of much of his later work. In 1990, Hodgins married the writer Janet Shaw, with whom he had two children, Anna and Helen. Hodgins was a co-founder of the Mildura Writers' Festival.

Death and legacy

Hodgins died of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

in Maryborough on 18 August 1995. A few weeks before his death, the writer

Peter Goldsworthy Peter David Goldsworthy AM (born 12 October 1951) is an Australian writer and medical practitioner. He has won major awards for his short stories, poetry, novels, and opera libretti. Goldsworthy began his writing life as a poet, as described i ...

wrote his obituary and sent it to him for perusal. He received in return a bottle of Hodgins's favourite wine, and a note saying it was "an obituary to die for". His papers, writing and correspondence are held in the

Australian Defence Force Academy The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Aus ...

Library in Canberra. The annual Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal for Literary excellence has been awarded each year since 1997. A photograph of Philip Hodgins by A. T. Bolton (1926–1996) is in the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

online collection. Peter Rose called him "probably the most loved ustralianpoet of his generation", noting that "his admirers ranged from...

Alan Hollinghurst Alan James Hollinghurst (born 26 May 1954) is an English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator. He won the 1989 Somerset Maugham Award, the 1994 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the 2004 Booker Prize. Early life and education H ...

to Ron Barassi and Peter Porter to Les Murray". Clive James ventured that "if he had lived as long as his admired Goethe, he would probably have ''been'' Goethe",Clive James
'The Meaning of Recognition'
''Australian Book Review'', September 2003. although it must be said that he was receiving the Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal at the time.

Awards

* 1986 - Wesley Michael Wright Prize for Poetry * Bicentennial Poetry Book Award * 1987 - New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry for ''Blood and Bone'' * 1988 - Grace Perry Memorial Award * 1993 -

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 ''The End of the Season'' * National Book Council Poetry Prize * Prairie Schooner Readers Choice USA Award * 1996 - National Book Council Turnbull Fox Phillips Poetry Prize

Publications

*''Blood and Bone'' (1986) *''Down the Lake with Half a Chook'' (1988) *''Animal Warmth'' (1990) *''The End of the Season'' (1993) *''Up on All Fours'' (1993) *''Dispossessed'' (1994) *''Things Happen'' (1995) *''Selected Poems'' (1997)

Notes

References

Papers of Philip Hodgins
Academy Library, UNSW@ADFA (Retrieved 5 August 2007)

External links

Mildura Writers' Festival

La Trobe University Bulletin September 2003 (Retrieved 5 August 2007)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgins, Philip 1959 births 1995 deaths People from Shepparton 20th-century Australian poets Australian male poets 20th-century Australian male writers Deaths from leukemia