'Bruce Dawe left school at the age of sixteen and began work as a labourer, farmhand, clerk, and postman.  He developed an interest in poetry after attending the University of Melbourne.  From 1959 to 1968 he served in the RAAF. In 1990, after completing his master's and doctoral degrees, he was made an associate professor of the University of Southern Queensland and was appointed an honorary professor in 1993.

Dawe is a prolific and popular poet.  He pays particular attention to social issues and is often critical of governments, Australian insularity and oppressive elements of modernity.  His style is characteristically a mix of lyricism and Australian colloquial speech.  His collected poems Sometimes Gladness has been very successful and is considered to be one of Australia's best-selling poets.  In recent times Dawe has written numerous poems on the Iraq War.'

Jose, Nicolas, editor. "Bruce Dawe." Macquarie Pen anthology of Australian literature, Allen & Unwin, 2009.