Cirrus@Austlit

Chris Wallace-Crabbe's father was a journalist and his mother a pianist. He grew up with a family tradition of 'military-bohemian Scots'. After secondary education at Scotch College he worked at such jobs as cadet metallurgist and electrical trade journalist. He attended the University of Melbourne, graduating with a BA in 1956 and an MA in 1964. Wallace-Crabbe has had a long association with the University of Melbourne, including appointments as Chair of the Department of English, Reader and Personal Chair. In 1984 he was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He was founding director of the Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne, serving from 1989 until 1994 and returning as Professor Emeritus in 1998. He has travelled widely, giving poetry readings in many countries. He has also held a number of visiting fellowships at institutions worldwide, including Yale University, the University of Exeter and Harvard University.

Wallace-Crabbe's poetry was first published during his undergraduate education and his first book, The Music of Division, appeared in 1959. Since then he has published many volumes, attracting a number of prizes, including the Dublin Prize for the Arts and Sciences in 1987. Wallace-Crabbe's poetry ranges from the syllogistic poems of his earlier career to the more public and political poems of his later career. Frequently set in Melbourne, the poems explore the dissolution of modern life and the ongoing search for joy that Wallace-Crabbe believes all humans experience. Wallace-Crabbe has edited many anthologies and collections of essays and has published a number of his own books of literary criticism and essays. He has also written a novel set in 1960s Melbourne.

From 2012-2015, Wallace-Crabbe was the judge for the Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal.

Son of Kenneth Wallace-Crabbe (q.v.) and brother of Robin Wallace-Crabbe (q.v.).