Anthony Lawrence was born in 1957 in Tamworth. He left school at the age of sixteen, becoming first a jackeroo, and then travelling for several years before returning to New South Wales to become a teacher and writer. While working as a fisherman in Western Australia, he secured a literary fellowship which enabled him to devote time to writing poetry. Lawrence has won a number of awards for his poetry, including the inaugural Judith Wright Calanthe Award (Queensland Premier's Poetry Prize), the Harri Jones Memorial Award, the Gwen Harwood Memorial Prize in 1996, and the Newcastle Poetry Prize in 1997. He has also received a number of Literature Board Grants. Lawrence was poetry editor for the 2004 volume of UQP's Best Australian Poetry Series. --excerpted from AustLit