Benjamin Frater lived in the Western suburbs of Sydney and in the Wollongong area. He studied creative arts at the Univeristy of Wollongong and had almost completed his degree at the time of his death. Frater was an active participant in writers' groups. His poetry was described by Alan Wearne (q.v.) as 'large and unwieldy at times and frequently nightmarish, but his extraordinary humour meant it was always written for an audience's enjoyment'. According to Wearne, Frater 'was a talented and original poet whose life was dominated by three things: his poetry, his schizophrenia and the devotion between him, his family and friends'.
Source: Alan Wearne, 'A Visionary Poet of Rhapsodies and Nightmares', Sydney Morning Herald, 9 August 2007:20.
From his teens Frater was attracted to the traditions of Spencer, Milton, Blake, Whitman and Ginsberg, the latter poet together with the Symbolists, the Russian Futurists, and Artaud being the poles around which his unique visionary work gradually assembled. Source : 6am in the Universe
