Garrie Hutchinson was part of what he calls 'the Australian poetry and theatre eruption' at La Mama and the Pram Factory in Carlton from 1968-1972. At the same time he was heavily involved in alternative journalism and the anti-war movement. In 1969-1970 he edited with Ulli McCarthy a short-lived poetry magazine, Yam 2, and he also edited a political journal, Venceremos. He helped start the Carlton News, later the Melbourne Times, wrote for Nation Review, co-edited the Digger magazine in the early 1970s, and was Melbourne theatre critic for The Australian 1973-1976.
Hutchinson co-founded Hoopla Productions (later the Playbox Theatre Co) with Graeme Blundell and Carillo Gantner (qqv) in 1976 and the Melbourne Writers Theatre with Jack Hibberd and Dinny O'Hearn (qqv) and others in 1983. In 1980 he started writing about football for the Age, and has his book From the Outer: Watching Football in the 80s (1986) has been influential in the development of contemporary Australian sportswriting. He has since written a number of books on football and other sports, both for adults and children.
In the 1990s Hutchinson travelled and wrote about different parts of the world, particularly focusing on areas of Australia's military history. In 2002 he published True Blue: the A-Z of Australian Icons. He has written a number of practical and fictional children's books, and collected the 'unknown' works of C. J. Dennis and black and white artist Percy Leason.
Hutchinson has also continued his interest in editing publications, especially for AusAID, and speechwriting. He has written for, among others, Prime Minister Bob Hawke (1991) diverse leaders of the Opposition in Victoria, and for ministers since 2000.
Australian Poetry Library Author Entry