David Rowbotham

David Harold Rowbotham AM (27 August 1924 – 6 October 2010) was an Australian poet and journalist.

For the English musician, see Dave Rowbotham.

Early life

Rowbotham was born in the Darling Downs of Queensland, in the city of Toowoomba.[1] He attended Toowoomba Grammar School and studied at the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney.[2] He served in the Second World War on the Pacific front.

Literary career

Rowbotham worked as a journalist for the Toowoomba Chronicle and Brisbane Courier-Mail (1955–64).[3] He lectured in English at the University of Queensland (1965–1969), and became the literary critic of the Brisbane Courier-Mail (1969–1980), and its literary editor (1980–1987).[2]

Though lyrical in form, Rowbotham's poems are often concerned with history. After the publication of his Selected Poems by Penguin in 1994, covering a period of fifty years, Rowbotham entered a startling late period of productivity which culminated in the publication of the much-lauded Poems for America in 2002. In 2005 the Wagtail series from Picaro Press published a chapbook of Rowbotham's called The Brown Island.

Later life

A friend and mentor to many other Australian writers, Rowbotham also maintained extensive international connections, travelling frequently to the United States.

He died on 6 October 2010.

Awards and recognition

Rowbotham was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1991 in recognition of his service to literature.[4]

In 2007 Rowbotham received the Patrick White Award; the presentation was made 9 November 2007, in Brisbane.

Bibliography
  • Ploughman and Poet (1954)
  • Inland (1958)
  • All the Room (1964)
  • Bungalow and Hurricane (1967)
  • The Makers of the Ark (1970)
  • The Pen of Feathers (1971)
  • Maydays (1980)
  • Selected Poems (1994)
  • The Ebony Gates (1996)
  • Poems for America (2002)
  • The Brown Island (2005)
  • The Cave in the Sky (2005)
  • The Star of Engelmeer (2006)
  • Rogue Moons (2007)

References
  1. David Rowbotham Archived 4 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine (Brisbane Writers' Festival) Accessed: 30 January 2007.
  2. Australian Verse: An Illustrated Treasury, edited by Beatrice Davis, State Library of New South Wales Press, 1996
  3. "David Rowbotham". Australian Poetry Library. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  4. "David Harold Rowbotham". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 11 December 2019.


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