Bruce Dawe was in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia in 1930. Due to his family's relative lack of wealth, he was unable to complete his primary education. At the age of 16, he took various jobs to help support his family, including work at a mill and a farm. Despite his earlier exit from formal schooling, he worked towards a graduation certificate in 1953. After dropping out of teaching school in Melbourne, Dawe moved to Sydney and later enrolled in the Royal Air Force. He later earned 4 degrees, including a Ph.D. Between 1953 and 1993 he also worked as teacher and lecturer at various institutions,
Dawe published his first collection of poems in 1962. In 1965 he received his first literary award, The Myer Poetry Prize, for his second book, A Need of Similar Name. He has since released some 11 further poetry books, with the most recent being Border Security, released in 2016. In 1997 he was appointed to the Order of Australia and in 2001 he received the prestigious Centenary Medal, placing him in a class with 15,000 of Australia's most distinguished figures.
Dawe's work touches on numerous themes. It is both a celebration of everyday life, while also a criticism of modern consumerism. His work is rich in alliteration, onomatopoeia and other literary devices. His work is at once descriptive, complex, and accessible to all readers. Throughout his half-century as a writer, he has come to be one of Australia's most celebrated poets. Sometimes Gladness: Collected Poems 1954-1997 was first published in 1998. It has since been updated with sixth editions. The collection includes both his most famous works, along with newer additions.
