John Tranter John Tranter i(A7153 works by) (a.k.a. John Ernest Tranter; John E. Tranter)
Also writes as: Mark Pallas ; Jennifer Heaslop ; Jo Moore ; Patrick Lynch ; Chris Kruger ; Peter J. Kruse ; Rupert Thompson ; Dorian Hawthorn ; Tim Smith ; Dedalus ; Rona Simpson ; Joy H. Breshan ; Randolph Taylor
Born: Established: 29 Apr 1943 Cooma, Cooma area, Cooma - Snowy - Bombala area, Southeastern NSW, New South Wales, ; Died: Ceased: 21 Apr 2023 Sydney, New South Wales,
Gender: Male
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

John Tranter was born in Cooma, New South Wales, but moved with his family to Moruya, on the south coast of New South Wales, when he was four. After attending local schools and working in his father's soft drink factory, Tranter moved to Sydney in 1961 and began an architecture degree at the University of Sydney. He abandoned his studies a year later, but returned to complete a BA in 1970 after travelling through Europe and Asia in the late 1960s.

In the 1970s, Tranter began working as an editor for various publishers, and editor and producer for the ABC and SBS in the '80s. He also taught in several universities and travelled widely, reading poetry and lecturing on Australian literature.

Tranter was well known as a poet. His first poetry collection—Parallax and Other Poems—was published in 1970, as an issue of Poetry Australia. Other works, such as Under Berlin (1988), and Urban Myths (2006), won awards, and his works have appeared in numerous national and international journals and anthologies. 

In 1997, Tranter founded the the poetry magazine Jacket.

(Source: OX; HDeB; DLB; Pradeep, Trikha, 'An Interview with John Tranter', Antipodes 18.1 (June 2004): 31-35; Poetry Library).

Exhibitions

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Urban Myths : 210 Poems : New and Selected St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2006 Z1268860 2006 selected work poetry (taught in 4 units)

'Urban Myths: 210 Poems brings the best work to date from a poet considered one of the most original of his generation in Australia, together with a generous selection of new work. Smart, wry and very stylish, John Tranter’s poems investigate the vagaries of perception and the ability of language to converge life, imagination and art so that we arrive, unexpectedly, at the deepest human mysteries.' (Publication summary)

2006 winner Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Prize for Poetry
2006 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award Dinny O'Hearn Poetry Prize
2008 winner Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards John Bray Award for Poetry
2008 winner Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards Premier's Award
2007 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
y separately published work icon Studio Moon Cambridge Applecross : Salt Publishing , 2003 Z1076251 2003 selected work poetry
2004 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry

Known archival holdings

Albinski 222
National Library of Australia (ACT)
University of New South Wales Australian Defence Force Academy Australian Defence Force Academy Library (ACT)
Last amended 26 Apr 2023 09:54:57
Influence on:
The Great Poet Reconsiders the Generation of '68 Peter Goldsworthy , 1986-1987 single work poetry
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X