Bryan Kelleher Literary Award
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:24 pm
If the prestigious Bryan Kelleher Literary Award is no more, well I am very sad for writers and for Australia.
I just loved those people at Australian Unity.
They were very kind and generous to me when I was down in Melbourne. I am a humble bloke and have nothing but praise and gratitude for what they did in the way they did it. Supporting traditional Bush Poetry. Absolutely fantastic. Kindness personified. Professionally organised.
Met Noel and of course the late Kym Eitel there.... lovely people... it was all great fun!
As for rules preventing past awardees from entering for a year?
I can understand perfectly where Australian Unity are coming from and support them fully. Guys... take a rest for a year and let someone else have a crack at it. Same people there every year could understandably demoralise and discourage other entrants and that is not the intention and spirit of the Award. In turn, less entries means it is easier for a small clique to dominate. Encouragement of all Australian traditional poetry writers is also what it is about, as well as recognizing excellence.
No big deal, and a huge complement if you are temporaily sidelined for being too good or monopolising it! It is a BIG complement.
So I do not think it is a "strange" decision at all. Nor, I expect, would it leave a bad taste in anybody's mouth and it is silly for anyone to suggest it. It was the absolutely correct approach. It is THEIR competition.
It was eminently sensible in the interest of the Competition of which they are charged with stewardship... even if not in the self-interest of any particular entrant. And the Award is more important than any individual I am afraid. In their shoes I would have done exactly the same thing.
I have not come across any public criticism of Australian Unity in the Henry Lawson Society Journal by any past Awardees as claimed (but then my fees are overdue so perhaps the mag missed me then?) I would be very upset if that indeed happened.
I sincerely appreciate all that Australian Unity have done to perpetuate Bryan Kelleher's name and in supporting traditional Australian writing. Magnificient.
Gratitude. Being humble. Appreciative.
I reckon I just scraped in with my win that year 2010. Probably other entrants were better...
It is Australian Unity's competition. I for one respect that.
They tell people THEIR rules, and if they do not like it.... well do not enter again. Simple.
Australian Unity are wonderful. I simply cannot speak highly enough of them or accord them any more respect than what I do.
As the 2010 Winner I can only say I admire them, and as for criticising them publicly or privately???? Unreal. You gotta be kidding.!!!
Never ever in ten million years would I ever have the gall and arrogance to speak one bad word against them, even if I had one, which I certainly don't!! I would be so ashamed. As for any awardee turning on them publicly in a journal, if that happened ??? or even here !? Never. It is just not done.
Now I know I am a person of little style and even less literary ability.... and yes I know that I can be bought for money if the price is right... but no amount of money would ever entice me to utter even a syllable against those fantastic people at Australian Unity.
I was puzzled as to why their prestigious Award is no more and... well I think I now have an understanding of why. And I do not blame them one bit.
If I was a Manager at Australian Unity and found my organisation, whose integrity is beyond question, being publicly criticized by anyone that my company had treated magnanimously.. people that have been handsomely rewarded financially, their work kindly reproduced in the Australian Unity magazine, and a large degree of public acclaim given.. let me say I would be telling those so-called "poets" what they could do with their writing and believe me it would not be pleasant. Cancellation of the Bryan Kelleher Literary Award would be immediate. None of those people would get the opportunity to receive another cent of Australian Unity's money again.. even if they were the next Henry Lawson.
I just loved those people at Australian Unity.
They were very kind and generous to me when I was down in Melbourne. I am a humble bloke and have nothing but praise and gratitude for what they did in the way they did it. Supporting traditional Bush Poetry. Absolutely fantastic. Kindness personified. Professionally organised.
Met Noel and of course the late Kym Eitel there.... lovely people... it was all great fun!
As for rules preventing past awardees from entering for a year?
I can understand perfectly where Australian Unity are coming from and support them fully. Guys... take a rest for a year and let someone else have a crack at it. Same people there every year could understandably demoralise and discourage other entrants and that is not the intention and spirit of the Award. In turn, less entries means it is easier for a small clique to dominate. Encouragement of all Australian traditional poetry writers is also what it is about, as well as recognizing excellence.
No big deal, and a huge complement if you are temporaily sidelined for being too good or monopolising it! It is a BIG complement.
So I do not think it is a "strange" decision at all. Nor, I expect, would it leave a bad taste in anybody's mouth and it is silly for anyone to suggest it. It was the absolutely correct approach. It is THEIR competition.
It was eminently sensible in the interest of the Competition of which they are charged with stewardship... even if not in the self-interest of any particular entrant. And the Award is more important than any individual I am afraid. In their shoes I would have done exactly the same thing.
I have not come across any public criticism of Australian Unity in the Henry Lawson Society Journal by any past Awardees as claimed (but then my fees are overdue so perhaps the mag missed me then?) I would be very upset if that indeed happened.
I sincerely appreciate all that Australian Unity have done to perpetuate Bryan Kelleher's name and in supporting traditional Australian writing. Magnificient.
Gratitude. Being humble. Appreciative.
I reckon I just scraped in with my win that year 2010. Probably other entrants were better...
It is Australian Unity's competition. I for one respect that.
They tell people THEIR rules, and if they do not like it.... well do not enter again. Simple.
Australian Unity are wonderful. I simply cannot speak highly enough of them or accord them any more respect than what I do.
As the 2010 Winner I can only say I admire them, and as for criticising them publicly or privately???? Unreal. You gotta be kidding.!!!
Never ever in ten million years would I ever have the gall and arrogance to speak one bad word against them, even if I had one, which I certainly don't!! I would be so ashamed. As for any awardee turning on them publicly in a journal, if that happened ??? or even here !? Never. It is just not done.
Now I know I am a person of little style and even less literary ability.... and yes I know that I can be bought for money if the price is right... but no amount of money would ever entice me to utter even a syllable against those fantastic people at Australian Unity.
I was puzzled as to why their prestigious Award is no more and... well I think I now have an understanding of why. And I do not blame them one bit.
If I was a Manager at Australian Unity and found my organisation, whose integrity is beyond question, being publicly criticized by anyone that my company had treated magnanimously.. people that have been handsomely rewarded financially, their work kindly reproduced in the Australian Unity magazine, and a large degree of public acclaim given.. let me say I would be telling those so-called "poets" what they could do with their writing and believe me it would not be pleasant. Cancellation of the Bryan Kelleher Literary Award would be immediate. None of those people would get the opportunity to receive another cent of Australian Unity's money again.. even if they were the next Henry Lawson.