Laurie Duggan



Laurence "Laurie" James Duggan (born 1949) 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. Scott. Both he and Scott won the Monash Poetry Prize. He moved to Sydney in 1972 and became involved with the poetry scene there, in particular with John Tranter, John Forbes, Ken Bolton and Pam Brown. Duggan lectured at Swinburne College ( 1976) and Canberra College of Advanced Education (1983).

His poetry grows out of contemplation of moments and found texts. His interest in bricolage started early: while still at Monash he was working on a series of 'Merz poems', short poems about discarded objects, inspired by the work of Kurt Schwitters. His book-length poem The Ash Range (1987) uses diaries, journals of pioneers, and newspaper articles in its construction of a history of Gippsland.

Recognition

 * 1971 - Poetry Society of Australia Award for the poem East.
 * 1976 - Anne Elder Poetry Award for East: Poems 1970-1974.
 * 1988 - Victorian Premier's Award for The Ash Range.
 * 1989 - Welsey Michel Prize for The Epigrams of Martial.
 * 2003 - Age Poetry Book of the Year for Mangroves.
 * 2004 - Australian Literature Society Gold Medal for Mangroves.
 * 2007 - Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, Poetry Collection - Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe Award for The Passenger.

Poetry

 * The Ash Range (Picador, 1987) ISBN 978-0-907562-69-6
 * Blue Notes (Picador, 1990) ISBN 978-0-330-27192-9
 * Laurie Duggan: Selected Poems 1971-1993 (UQP, 1996) ISBN 978-0-7022-2624-3
 * Mangroves (UQP, 2003) ISBN 978-0-7022-3351-7
 * Compared to What: Selected Poems 1971-2003 (Shearsman, 2003) ISBN 978-0-907562-61-0
 * The Passenger (UQP, 2006) ISBN 978-0-7022-3555-9

Non-fiction

 * Ghost Nation:Imagined Space and Aust Visual Culture 1901-1939 (UQP, 2001) ISBN 978-0-7022-3189-6

Translations

 * The Epigrams of Martial (Pressed Wafer, 2010) ISBN 978-0-9824100-7-3