The Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize is a biennial award that is offered alternately to enable an Australian poet to visit Ireland and to facilitate the visit of an Irish poet to Melbourne. It provides the recipient with a return airfare, a contribution towards living expenses and an honorary fellowship at the Australian Centre in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne.
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The prize was established in 1992 to commemorate the life and work of Vincent Buckley by reflecting his "love of and commitment to both Australian and Irish poetry". Buckley was a poet, critic and Professor of English at the University of Melbourne and the prize was funded through donations from his family and friends.
The Award
The award is made by a committee comprising the director of the Australian Centre, the head of the department of English at the University or the head's nominee, and a practising poet nominated by the dean of the faculty of Arts. Past committee members have included Chris Wallace-Crabbe and former recipient Cate Kennedy.
The first award was made in 1994 and the recipient was Lisa Gorton.