Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize

Last updated

The Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize is an annual poetry prize endowed by Australian poet Bruce Dawe in 1999. [1] It is awarded to "an original, unpublished poem not exceeding 50 lines" by an Australian citizen or resident. [2] The award comes with a $2500 cash prize.

Contents

The aim of the prize is to encourage Australian poets and recognise "the important contribution they make to Australian culture". [1] It is managed by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba and is judged by English Literature staff at the Faculty.

Background

In 2003, Bruce Dawe said that when he retired from teaching at the University of Southern Queensland, he wanted to show his appreciation of the opportunities he'd had while working there. He said:

As Epictetus said, life is only loaned to us. All we can ever hope to do, I believe, is try and keep up the interest payments on that capital loan. Prizes have always been an encouragement to me, on the odd occasion of receiving one, to keep on writing. They are one form of recognition, and writers, in this country, need all the encouragement they can get. I have always readily acknowledged the help of those friends who have been good critics and good friends. They have been a most profitable part of the loan which life has provided. Prizes, like such friends, can be the kindly nudge in the ribs we writers need. Everybody needs kindly nudges from time to time...

A firm believer in keeping the environment, Dawe also accepted an award from the Australian Environmental Minister. The words he left with the audience were inspirationally captivating: "We generate our own environment. We get exactly what we deserve. Who’s to blame, who’s to credit but us? Who can change it, anytime we wish, but us?" [3]

He is also reported as having said that universities should encourage the practice of the arts within Australian society. [4]

Winners

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Ann Duffy</span> Scottish poet and playwright (born 1955)

Dame Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, and her term expired in 2019. She was the first female poet laureate, the first Scottish-born poet and the first openly lesbian poet to hold the Poet Laureate position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Wright</span> Australian poet, environmentalist and Indigenous rights campaigner

Judith Arundell Wright was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award and nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964, 1965 and 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Malouf</span> Australian poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and librettist

David George Joseph Malouf is an Australian poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and librettist. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2008, Malouf has lectured at both the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney. He also delivered the 1998 Boyer Lectures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Dawe</span> Australian poet and academic (1930–2020)

Donald Bruce Dawe was an Australian poet and academic. Some critics consider him one of the most influential Australian poets of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Les Murray (poet)</span> Australian poet and critic (1938-2019)

Leslie Allan Murray was an Australian poet, anthologist and critic. His career spanned over 40 years and he published nearly 30 volumes of poetry as well as two verse novels and collections of his prose writings.

This article presents lists of historical events related to the writing of poetry during 2004. The historical context of events related to the writing of poetry in 2004 are addressed in articles such as History of Poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Judith Beveridge is a contemporary Australian poet, editor and academic. She is a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronwyn Lea</span> Australian poet, academic and editor

Bronwyn Lea is a contemporary Australian poet, academic and editor.

"Homecoming" is a 1968 poem by Bruce Dawe. Written as an elegy for anonymous soldiers, "Homecoming" is an anti-war poem protesting Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War during the 1960s. Dennis Haskell, Winthrop Professor of English and Cultural Studies at University of Western Australia, has called it "the most highly regarded poem about Vietnam written by any Australian", and Peter Pierce, the editor of The Cambridge History of Australian Literature has described it as "one of the finest threnodies in the war literature of Vietnam".

David Musgrave is an Australian poet, novelist, publisher and critic. He is the founder of and publisher at Puncher & Wattmann, an independent press which publishes Australian poetry and literary fiction. He is also Deputy Chair of Australian Poetry Limited.

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 Grace Leven' and for the publication of his own work". Grace was his mother's half-sister.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

The Judith Wright Award, also known as the Judith Wright Prize, was awarded annually as part of the ACT Poetry Award between 2005 and 2011 for a book of poems published the previous year in book form by an Australian author. It was awarded for a published collection by an Australian poet.

Dennis Haskell is an Australian poet, critic and academic. He has authored nine collections of poetry, with his most recent works being And Yet… and Ahead of Us. Additionally, Haskell has contributed to literary scholarship, publishing fourteen volumes of literary criticism and literary essays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Oxley</span> Australian poet

Louise Oxley is an Australian poet who "often uses nature as a vehicle to enter metaphors that examine a more emotional, inner view of the world".

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize Archived May 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Conditions of entry Archived May 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Bruce Dawe speaking on Perspective presented by Sandy McCutcheon, ABC Radio National, 9 April 2003
  4. ↑ "News: Contest for Australian Poets: $1500 prize", deviantart.com, 25 March 2004
  5. ↑ "Prize honours poetic look at life in lockdown". University of Southern Queensland. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  6. ↑ "2009 Winner", The Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012.
  7. ↑ 2007 Winner Archived May 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ 2006 Winner Archived May 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ 2005 Winner Archived May 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ 2004 Winner Archived May 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ 2003 Winner Archived 2007-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ 2002 Winner Archived May 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ 2001 Winner Archived May 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ 2000 Winner Archived May 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ 1999 Winner Archived May 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.