Philip Neilsen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Philip Neilsen
Born	Brisbane, Queensland, Australia1
Occupation	Poet, Academic, Editor
Genre	Poetry, Fiction.

Philip Max Neilsen is an Australian poet, writer, and editor. He teaches poetry at the University of Queensland. Before that, he was a professor of creative writing at the Queensland University of Technology.

About Philip Neilsen

Philip Neilsen was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. His family came from Norway, Scotland, England, and Germany. He went to Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland. There, he earned several degrees in English and taught for nine years.

In 1997, he started the first creative writing program in Queensland at the Queensland University of Technology. He has also been involved with important groups like the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts. He helped create the Imago: New Writing Literary Magazine with poet Helen Horton. Philip Neilsen is married to Mhairead MacLeod, who is a lawyer and writer.

His Books and Writing

Philip Neilsen writes about many different things. His work can be funny, imaginative, or very real. He explores topics about society, the environment, and personal feelings. Some writers who have inspired him include W. H. Auden, Billy Collins, and Judith Wright.

In 1976, he received a Young Writer’s Fellowship from the Australia Council for his poetry. His young adult novel, Edward Britton, which he wrote with Gary Crew, was named a Notable Book in 2001. His writing has been translated into languages like Chinese, German, Korean, and Serbian. His poems have appeared in many important collections, including The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry and The Best Australian Poems 2017.

Philip Neilsen also wrote a book about the writer David Malouf called Imagined Lives. He edited the first collections of Australian funny poetry, like The Penguin Book of Australian Satirical Verse. Many famous poets, such as Les Murray and Sarah Holland-Batt, have praised his work. He has won several awards for his writing, including prizes in the Philip Bacon Ekphrasis Poetry Award. His book "Wildlife of Berlin" was also a finalist for the Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize in 2019.

He also researches how creative writing can help with mental health. He teaches poetry writing at the University of Queensland.

Poetry Books

• Faces of a Sitting Man (1975)
• The Art of Lying (1979)
• Australian Poets on Tape: Philip Roberts & Philip Neilsen (1980)
• Life Movies (1981)
• We’ll All Go Together (with Barry O’Donohue) (1983)
• Without an Alibi (2008)
• Wildlife of Berlin (2018)

Books for Young Readers

• Emma and the Megahero (1995)
• The Lie (1997)
• The Wombat King (1997)
• Edward Britton (with Gary Crew) (2000)
• Splot the Viking (2008)

Other Books

• Imagined Lives: A Study of David Malouf (1990 & 1996)
• The Cambridge Companion to Creative Writing (Co-edited with David Morley) (2013)
• Creative Arts in Counseling and Mental Health (Co-edited with Robert King and Felicity Baker) (2015)

Books He Edited

• The Penguin Book of Australian Satirical Verse (1986)
• The Sting in the Wattle (1993)
• 50 Years of Queensland Poetry (Co-edited with Helen Horton) (1998)
• Difficult Love: Short Stories (Co-edited with Helen Horton) (2000)

Short Stories and Essays

His short stories have appeared in many collections and magazines like The State of the Art and Overland. An essay called ‘Humility’ was in the book Eleven Saving Virtues. You can also find a digital story called ‘The Storyteller’ online at [1].