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Thomas William Shapcott

トーマス・ウィリアム・シャポット

Thomas William Shapcott

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-03-21 （Ipswich, Queensland, Australia）
Nationality
Australian
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, playwright, editor, librettist, short story writer, teacher
Active Years
1956-
Affiliations
Australia Council (Literature Board), National Book Council, University of Adelaide (Professor of Creative Writing)

Education

Ipswich Grammar School
Country: Australia
Secondary education (details not specified)
—
Degree: Accountancy degree
Year of Graduation: 1961
Country: Australia
Completed an accountancy degree in 1961 (institution not specified in source)
University of Queensland
Faculty of Arts
Degree: BA
Year of Graduation: 1967
Country: Australia
Graduated in arts in 1967

Awards

Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
1961
Work: Time on Fire
Result: winner
Myer Award for Australian Poetry
1967
Work: A Taste of Salt Water
Result: winner
C.J. Dennis Memorial Poetry Competition (Open Section)
1976
Work: The five senses
Result: commended
Canada–Australia Literary Award
1978
Result: recipient
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
1989
Organization: Government of Australia
Result: Officer (AO)
Golden Wreath (Struga Poetry Evenings)
1990
Organization: Struga Poetry Evenings
Result: laureate
Wesley Michel Wright Prize for Poetry
1996
Result: winner
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (Special Discretionary Award)
1996
Category: Special Discretionary Award
Organization: Government of New South Wales
Result: recipient
Patrick White Award
2000
Result: recipient
Harold White Fellowship
2005
Organization: National Library of Australia
Result: fellowship
Honorary Doctorate of Literature (Macquarie University)
Organization: Macquarie University
Result: honorary degree

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Time on Fire

1961 Poetry collection

An early collection establishing Shapcott's voice, featuring personal memory, urban scenes and experiments with voice.

memorythe cityindividual voice

A Taste of Salt Water: Poems

1967 Poetry collection

A collection that touches on the sea and nostalgia; winner of the Myer Award for Australian Poetry.

the seanostalgia

Chekhov's Mongoose

2000 Poetry collection

A mature collection combining formal concerns with narrative elements.

formnarrative

The Birthday Gift

1982 Novel

A novel from the 1980s exploring personal history and relationships.

familymemory

Limestone and Lemon Wine: Stories

1988 Short story collection

A collection of short stories rich in regional detail and character portrayal.

regionalismcharacter study

Bibliography

  • Time on Fire (1961)
  • The Mankind Thing (1964)
  • A Taste of Salt Water: Poems (1967)
  • The Birthday Gift (1982)
  • Limestone and Lemon Wine: Stories (1988)
  • Chekhov's Mongoose (2000)

Adaptations

  • First Seed Ripening (album by Elixir and Katie Noonan inspired by Shapcott's writing)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, formally attentive poetrymusical sense of rhythmexperimental manipulation of voice
Recurring Motifs
city and homememory and timemusic

Legacy

One of Australia's significant contemporary poets, Shapcott contributed both through his writing and institutional roles. He served in academic and literary-administration posts and left a substantial body of poetry and prose.

Academic Societies

  • Australia Council (Literature Board)

Archives

  • National Library of Australia (Papers of Thomas Shapcott)

In Popular Culture

  • The album 'First Seed Ripening' by Elixir and Katie Noonan was inspired by Shapcott's writing.

Trivia

  • He has a twin brother who was born the previous day (20 March 1935).
  • Shapcott is left-handed; his twin is right-handed.
  • Worked as a tax accountant for 27 years before focusing on writing and teaching.
  • Originally aspired to be a composer and wrote several musical works in youth.