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Philip Hodgins Philip Hodgins i(A12483 works by) (birth name: Ian Philip Hodgins)
Born: Established: 28 Jan 1959 Shepparton, Shepparton area, Goulburn - Campaspe area, Northern Victoria, Victoria, ; Died: Ceased: 18 Aug 1995 Maryborough, Maryborough (Vic) area, Clunes - Maryborough - Dunolly area, Ballarat - Bendigo area, Victoria,
Gender: Male
Heritage: Irish
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BiographyHistory

Philip Hodgins was born on a dairy farm at Katandra West near Shepparton, Victoria. Educated in Geelong, he worked for ten years as a sales representative for Macmillan publishers in Melbourne before becoming a full time student at Melbourne University in 1986. In November 1983, aged 24, Hodgins began treatment for leukaemia. In 1990 he married writer Janet Shaw with whom he had two daughters.

Hodgins' first book of poetry Blood and Bone (1986), received critical acclaim and he won a number of other prizes, including the Prairie Schooner Readers' Choice USA Award. He was a prolific contributor to many Australian newspapers, anthologies and literary journals.

Tightly controlled at the formal level, Hodgins' poetry has been praised by critics for its original, often lyrical imagery, and unsentimental treatment of the Australian pastoral genre. His mentors included Les Murray, Gwen Harwood and Peter Porter. Much of his poetry encompassed his formative years in country Victoria, school life, hospital experiences, international travel, family life and the experience of incurable illness.

The inaugural Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal for Literary Excellence was awarded to Bruce Dawe in 1997.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Things Happen Pymble : Angus and Robertson , 1995 Z315489 1995 selected work poetry humour
1996 winner NBC Banjo Awards NBC Turnbull Fox Phillips Poetry Prize
y separately published work icon Dispossessed : A Tale of Modern Rural Australia Pymble : Angus and Robertson , 1994 Z392561 1994 single work novella

'It is 1988, the year of celebrations. But not everyone feels invited. During the last weeks before eviction from their land, a farming family is dispossessed more than once. Against the myth of idyllic rural life, Dispossessed gives another vision. Here is a stark account of this family losing their identity, as well as the more familiar images from the bush: the birth and death of animals, the rhythms of working the land, and the excesses of nature. In this vivid novella, written in blank verse, Philip Hodgins finds powerful mataphors for Australia's recent past.' (Publication summary)

1994 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award
y separately published work icon The End of the Season : Pastoral Poems Canberra : Brindabella Press , 1993 Z180395 1993 selected work poetry
1993 winner Grace Leven Poetry Prize

Known archival holdings

University of New South Wales Australian Defence Force Academy Australian Defence Force Academy Library (ACT)
Last amended 3 Jul 2024 11:49:35
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