Mike Ladd (poet)
Encyclopedia
Mike Ladd is an Australia
n poet and radio presenter.
Mike Ladd was born in Berkeley, California
while his Australian parents were living and working in America
, but he returned to Australia when he was one year old, and grew up in the Adelaide Hills
. Ladd began writing poetry at a very young age, but took it up seriously while he was at the University of Adelaide
, studying English and Philosophy. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1979. Then he joined a new wave rock band called “The Lounge” as a singer and lyricist and later travelled and worked in Europe and Africa. Returning to Australia, in 1983 he joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
in Adelaide where he currently works as the producer and presenter of Poetica, a weekly program of poetry broadcast on national radio. In 1987, he married the artist Cathy Brooks, and they have two children.
Influenced by the poetry of the Greek Anthology, the ancient Chinese and Japanese poets, Robert Frost
, the European Minimalists and Nazim Hikmet
, Ladd's poetry expresses deep ideas and feelings in simple but not simplistic language. His subject matter often combines natural elements with the suburban and industrial. He has collaborated with other artists and musicians, making poems for audio, film and installation works. He is the author of several video poems, including "Seaweed","The Fall", "Zoo After Dark", and "The Eye of the Day."
His first book, "The Crack in the Crib", focussed on childhood and suburbia. His second book, "Picture’s Edge", concentrated on geographical and social edges, the marginalised, and displaced. In "Close to Home" he celebrated the intimate joys and sorrows of family life, and in "Rooms and Sequences" he explored power games, politics and injustice in the wider world. "Transit", published in 2007, observes key transitional moments in life and well as physical journeys.
In 2006 Mike Ladd was awarded the Barbara Hanrahan fellowship and was a guest of Venezuela's World Poetry Festival. In 2009 he lived in Malaysia, at Rimbun Dahan, where he researched and wrote poems based on the traditional "Pantum" form. The video poem he made there called "The Eye of the Day" won equal first prize in the Overload Festival's Poetronica award for best multimedia poem in 2010.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n poet and radio presenter.
Mike Ladd was born in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
while his Australian parents were living and working in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but he returned to Australia when he was one year old, and grew up in the Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
. Ladd began writing poetry at a very young age, but took it up seriously while he was at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, studying English and Philosophy. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1979. Then he joined a new wave rock band called “The Lounge” as a singer and lyricist and later travelled and worked in Europe and Africa. Returning to Australia, in 1983 he joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
in Adelaide where he currently works as the producer and presenter of Poetica, a weekly program of poetry broadcast on national radio. In 1987, he married the artist Cathy Brooks, and they have two children.
Influenced by the poetry of the Greek Anthology, the ancient Chinese and Japanese poets, Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
, the European Minimalists and Nazim Hikmet
Nazim Hikmet
Nâzım Hikmet Ran , commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet , was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements"...
, Ladd's poetry expresses deep ideas and feelings in simple but not simplistic language. His subject matter often combines natural elements with the suburban and industrial. He has collaborated with other artists and musicians, making poems for audio, film and installation works. He is the author of several video poems, including "Seaweed","The Fall", "Zoo After Dark", and "The Eye of the Day."
His first book, "The Crack in the Crib", focussed on childhood and suburbia. His second book, "Picture’s Edge", concentrated on geographical and social edges, the marginalised, and displaced. In "Close to Home" he celebrated the intimate joys and sorrows of family life, and in "Rooms and Sequences" he explored power games, politics and injustice in the wider world. "Transit", published in 2007, observes key transitional moments in life and well as physical journeys.
In 2006 Mike Ladd was awarded the Barbara Hanrahan fellowship and was a guest of Venezuela's World Poetry Festival. In 2009 he lived in Malaysia, at Rimbun Dahan, where he researched and wrote poems based on the traditional "Pantum" form. The video poem he made there called "The Eye of the Day" won equal first prize in the Overload Festival's Poetronica award for best multimedia poem in 2010.