David Brooks (author)
Encyclopedia
David Gordon Brooks is an Australian author.
He graduated from the Australian National University
in 1974. He married Alison Summers in 1975. Brooks and Summers then studied abroad and received their M.A. degrees from the University of Toronto
. Brooks completed his Ph.D from the University of Toronto after returning to Australia in 1981 while teaching at the Royal Military College, Duntroon
located in Canberra. In 1982 he began teaching at the University of Western Australia
in Perth, where he met the poet Nicolette Stasko
, who became his partner for the next twenty years. In 1986 he returned to the Australian National University as a lecturer, a post he held for the next four years. Brooks currently is an associate professor of Australian Literature
at the University of Sydney
. He married the Slovenian translator and photographer Teja Pribac in 2005.
He is a co-editor, along with Elizabeth McMahon, for Southerly
, Australia's oldest literary magazine.
His novel, The Fern Tattoo
, was shortlisted for the 2008 Miles Franklin Award
.
He is a vegan.
Poetry
Short stories
Non-fiction
Edited
He graduated from the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
in 1974. He married Alison Summers in 1975. Brooks and Summers then studied abroad and received their M.A. degrees from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Brooks completed his Ph.D from the University of Toronto after returning to Australia in 1981 while teaching at the Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
located in Canberra. In 1982 he began teaching at the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
in Perth, where he met the poet Nicolette Stasko
Nicolette Stasko
Nicolette Stasko is a contemporary Australian poet, novelist and non-fiction writer of United States origin.Nicolette Stasko was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to Polish and Hungarian parents. She completed a BA with honours in English at Pennsylvania State University and an MA in education at...
, who became his partner for the next twenty years. In 1986 he returned to the Australian National University as a lecturer, a post he held for the next four years. Brooks currently is an associate professor of Australian Literature
Australian literature
Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies, therefore, its literary tradition begins with and is linked to...
at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. He married the Slovenian translator and photographer Teja Pribac in 2005.
He is a co-editor, along with Elizabeth McMahon, for Southerly
Southerly (journal)
Southerly is an Australian literary magazine, established in the 1930s. It is currently published in hardcopy and online three times a year, and carries fiction and poetry by established and new authors as well as reviews and critical essays...
, Australia's oldest literary magazine.
His novel, The Fern Tattoo
The Fern Tattoo
The Fern Tattoo is a 2007 novel by the Australian author David Brooks.-Plot summary:Benedict's mother has recently died; after the funeral he receives a phone call from Mrs. Darling, a friend of his mother's. Benedict visits the old woman in the countryside where she tells him various tales that...
, was shortlisted for the 2008 Miles Franklin Award
Miles Franklin Award
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
.
He is a vegan.
Books
Novels- The House of BalthusThe House of BalthusThe House of Balthus is a 1995 fantasy, horror novel by David Brooks. It is a story about characters from a painting by Balthus who have walked out to inhabit an ancient chateau.-Background:...
. Allen and Unwin, 1995. - The Fern TattooThe Fern TattooThe Fern Tattoo is a 2007 novel by the Australian author David Brooks.-Plot summary:Benedict's mother has recently died; after the funeral he receives a phone call from Mrs. Darling, a friend of his mother's. Benedict visits the old woman in the countryside where she tells him various tales that...
. University of Queensland Press, 2007. - The Umbrella Club. University of Queensland Press, 2009.
Poetry
- The Cold Front. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger, 1983.
- Walking to Point Clear. Blackheath: Brandl & Schlesinger, 2005.
- Urban Elegies. Sydney: Island Press (Australia)Island Press (Australia)Island Press is an Australian publisher of poetry and other interests.Island Press was founded in 1970 by Canadian poet, musician and Sydney University lecturer Philip Roberts. He lived on Scotland Island at that time, hence the name. In 1973 Philip moved to Bundeena...
, 2007. - The Balcony. University of Queensland Press, 2008.
Short stories
- The Book of Sei and Other Stories. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger, 1985. The Book of Sei. London: Faber & Faber, 1987.
- Sheep and the Diva. Melbourne: McPhee GribbleMcPhee GribbleMcPhee Gribble was a Carlton-based Australian publisher. Founded in 1975 by Diana Gribble and Hilary McPhee, McPhee Gribble was the initial publisher of works by significant Australian writers including Tim Winton, Helen Garner, Rod Jones, Brian Matthews, Murray Bail, Kaz Cooke, Martin Flanagan,...
, 1990. - Black Sheep. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1997.
Non-fiction
- The Necessary Jungle: Literature and Excess. Melbourne: McPhee Gribble, 1990.
- De/scription. Sydney: Vagabond Press, 2000.
- The Sons of Clovis: Ern MalleyErn MalleyErnest Lalor "Ern" Malley was a fictitious poet and the central figure in Australia's most celebrated literary hoax. The poet, and his entire body of work, were created in one day in 1944 by writers James McAuley and Harold Stewart as a hoax on Max Harris, Angry Penguins, the modernist magazine he...
, Adoré FloupetteAdoré FloupetteAdoré Floupette is the collective pseudonym of French authors Henri Beauclair and Gabriel Vicaire used for their 1885 literary spoof titled Les Déliquescences d'Adoré Floupette, a collection of poems satirising French symbolism and the Decadent movement....
and a Secret History of Australian Poetry, Brisbane: University of Queensland PressUniversity of Queensland PressEstablished in 1948, University of Queensland Press is a dynamic publishing house known for its innovative philosophy and commitment to producing books of high quality and cultural significance...
, 2011. ISBN 978 0 7022 3884 0
Edited
- With Brenda WalkerBrenda WalkerBrenda Walker is an Australian writer. She studied at the University of New England in Armidale and, after gaining a PhD in English at the Australian National University, she moved to Perth in 1984. She is now Winthrop Professor of English and Cultural Studies at the University of Western Australia...
Poetry and Gender. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1989. - A. D. Hope: Selected Poems. Sydney: HarperCollins/A&R, 1991.
- Suddenly Evening: Selected Poems of R.F. Brissenden. Melbourne: McPhee Gribble, 1991.
- The Double Looking Glass: New and Classic Essays on the Poetry of A. D. Hope. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 2000.
- Selected Poetry and Prose of A. D. Hope. Sydney: Halstead Press, 2000.