mark o'connor - australian poet

photo of Mark O'Connor photo of fig tree photo of dog

About Mark O'Connor

Mark O'Connor is a professional poet with a special interest in the natural environment. He has published several books of poetry on regions of Australia such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Blue Mountains, often collaborating with renowned nature photographers. Mark's work is widely represented in contemporary Australian anthologies of poetry, and in international publications. For instance, in the fifth edition of Oxford University Press's massive international chronological anthology Seven Centuries of Poetry in English (edited by J. Leonard, ISBN 0 19 551420 3) he is allocated more space than any poet under the age of Seamus Heaney.

Mark has won several national and international prizes and awards, and he has undertaken fellowships throughout the world including USA, Europe, Russia, China and India. In 1999 he was appointed H.C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellow at the Australian National University, and in 2000 he was given a grant from the Australia Council to write poetry about the 2000 Olympic Games. He is also the editor of the much re-printed Oxford anthology Two Centuries of Australian Poetry.

In addition to his own poetry, Mark is now translating Shakespearean verse into modern English. He is also the inventor and patent holder for the Pro-NOUNCE-it software for showing the pronunciation of English words. Mark lives with his wife Jan in Canberra Australia, where he pursues interests in grafting and propagating unusual fruit trees and occasionally practices as a marriage celebrant. For further information on Mark O'Connor's poetry and achievements see:


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