Samuel Wagan Watson
Encyclopedia
Samuel Wagan Watson is a contemporary Indigenous Australian poet
.
Samuel Wagan Watson was born in Brisbane
, his family is Irish
, German
, Bundjalung and Birri Gubba. His poetry ranges from observation of everyday experience to the effects of colonisation in a vividly direct, almost tactile, language.
In the late 1990s the Brisbane City Council set up a project to raise awareness of the Boondall Wetlands
. The project was set up to bring together historians, poets, photographers, environmentalists and designers and show the cultural history of the Wetlands, both the local indigneous history and the experiences of European settlers. Samuel Watson was invited to this project, with the poets Brett Dionysius and Liz Hall-Downs, and in 2000 an audio CD was produced of their work, called Blackfellas Whitefellas Wetlands. The very different voices and focus of the three poets worked together to create a sense or place and of history.
When asked in interview who had influenced him, Samuel Watson recognised the influence of his parents, and listed also, "Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski and Robert Adamson".
Samuel Wagan Watson's father is the novelist and political activist, Sam Watson.
Samuel Watson has also received a Highly Commended in both the Anne Elder Awards and the 2000 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Australian Culture.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Samuel Wagan Watson was born in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, his family is Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Bundjalung and Birri Gubba. His poetry ranges from observation of everyday experience to the effects of colonisation in a vividly direct, almost tactile, language.
In the late 1990s the Brisbane City Council set up a project to raise awareness of the Boondall Wetlands
Boondall Wetlands
The Boondall Wetlands lie on the edge of Moreton Bay in the Brisbane suburb of Boondall between Nudgee Beach and Shorncliffe. The wetlands are preserved within the Boondall Wetlands Reserve which was preserved in 1990 and covers more than 1100 hectares of internationally significant wetlands.The...
. The project was set up to bring together historians, poets, photographers, environmentalists and designers and show the cultural history of the Wetlands, both the local indigneous history and the experiences of European settlers. Samuel Watson was invited to this project, with the poets Brett Dionysius and Liz Hall-Downs, and in 2000 an audio CD was produced of their work, called Blackfellas Whitefellas Wetlands. The very different voices and focus of the three poets worked together to create a sense or place and of history.
When asked in interview who had influenced him, Samuel Watson recognised the influence of his parents, and listed also, "Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski and Robert Adamson".
Samuel Wagan Watson's father is the novelist and political activist, Sam Watson.
Awards and nominations
- 1999 - Queensland Premier's Literary AwardsQueensland Premier's Literary AwardsThe Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were inaugurated in 1999 and have grown to become a leading literary awards program within Australia, with $225,000 in prizemoney over 14 categories. One of Australia's richest prizes, top categories offer up to $25,000 for 1st prize.-Fiction Book...
, David UnaiponDavid UnaiponDavid Unaipon was an Australian Aboriginal of the Ngarrindjeri people, a preacher, inventor and writer. He was the most widely known Aboriginal in Australia, and broke stereotypes of Aboriginals...
Award for an Emerging Indigenous Writers for Of Muse, Meandering and Midnight - 2005 - New South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsNew South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsThe New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards were established in 1979 by the New South Wales Premier Neville Wran. Commenting on its purpose, Wran said: "We want the arts to take, and be seen to take, their proper place in our social priorities...
, Kenneth Slessor Prize for PoetryKenneth Slessor Prize for PoetryThe Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry is awarded annually as part of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards for a book of collected poems or for a single poem of substantial length published in book form...
Book of the Year for Smoke Encrypted Whispers
Samuel Watson has also received a Highly Commended in both the Anne Elder Awards and the 2000 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Australian Culture.
Books
- Of Muse, Meandering and Midnight. (UQP, 1999) ISBN 0-7022-3174-6
- Itinerant Blues. (UQP, 2002) ISBN 0-7022-3282-3 reviewed
- Hotel Bone (Vagabone Press, 2001)
- Smoke Encrypted Whispers. (UQP, 2004) ISBN 0-7022-3471-0 review
- Three legged dogs, and other poems. (Picaro Press, 2005) OCLC: 69249268
Articles and Other Publications
– Scholar search |postscript = }}External links
- Review of Smoke at Australian Humanities Review
- Messagestick Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Online Review 4 July 2007
- ABC Queensland review by radio presenters Steve Austin & Hilary Beaton
- Brisbane Stories 1996-2005 Artists in Boondall Wetlands - 2002