http://nathancurnow.weebly.com/

Nathan Curnow : poet

After gaining qualifications in Community Development I worked in Drug and Alcohol and Crisis Housing for many years in Melbourne, where I quickly became numb and exhausted. I had been pursuing writing for a couple of years and so decided to commit further by quitting my job and enrolling in Creative Writing at Swinburne Tafe.  Following that I entered the University of Melbourne, which for me was like a kind of hothouse, one that fast-tracked my development. Studying under Kevin Brophy and Philip Salom, among others, I completed a Post Grad Dip in Creative Writing and moved to Portland on the far south west coast of Victoria.

Some might think of me as a Melbourne poet, but the majority of my writing has occurred in the regional wilds of Victoria. The irony is that as soon as I moved out of the city, the small opportunities and breakthroughs began to come my way, which meant some serious travel! I spent the next six years crashing on friends couches, in hotel rooms or in my car on the side of the road, all to perform, read, write and generally make a go of it.

In 2007 things got even crazier when I set off to write about my stays at ten haunted sites around the country.  The adventure was featured widely in print and radio, and sparked the interest of a number of festivals where I was invited to appear.

In 2010 I co-edited, along with Lisa Greenaway and Ella Holcombe, Going Down Swinging No. 30, the iconic and much loved literary journal that has given myself and so many emerging writers a great kickstart.   

I have also had the opportunity to collaborate with a range of gifted people over the years, including artist
Dr Carmel Wallace, composer Anthony Lyons, musicians Wulfbyrne Brown, Joel Roberts and Michael Wallace, plus film students (Raphaela Lee, Clare O'Donnell and Laura James) from RMIT.

Nathan Curnow