Laurie Duggan was born in
Melbourne and attended
Monash University, where his friends included the poets
Alan Wearne and
John A. Scott. Both he and Scott won the Poetry Society of Australia Prize (Scott 1970, Duggan 1971). He moved to Sydney in 1972 and became involved with the poetry scene there, in particular with
John Tranter,
John Forbes,
Ken Bolton and
Pam Brown. Duggan lectured at
Swinburne College ( 1976) and
Canberra College of Advanced Education (1983). His poetry grew out of contemplation of moments and found texts. His interest in
bricolage started early: while still at Monash he was working on a series of 'Merz poems', short poems about discarded objects, inspired by the work of
Kurt Schwitters. His book-length poem
The Ash Range (1987) uses diaries, journals of pioneers, and newspaper articles in its construction of a history of
Gippsland. ==Awards==