Home / Arts and Entertainment / Poet Araluen Wins $125K in Victorian Literary Awards
Poet Araluen Wins $125K in Victorian Literary Awards
25 Feb
Summary
- Evelyn Araluen won $125,000 across two Victorian literary awards.
- Her poetry collection 'The Rot' addressed genocide and government complicity.
- Araluen advocates for fairer arts prize taxation in Australia.
Evelyn Araluen's poetry collection, 'The Rot,' achieved a major triumph at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. She was honored with the top $100,000 Victorian prize for literature and an additional $25,000 for the Indigenous writing category.
The collection, described by judges as "a vital intervention in this country's cultural conversation," was inspired by Araluen's experience being heckled for referring to Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide in 2024. The poems explore feelings of powerlessness, grief, and rage in the face of government complicity.
Araluen also used her platform to advocate for a reform in the taxation of arts prizes in Australia. She highlighted how substantial prize winnings can be significantly reduced by income tax, impacting artists' financial stability, unlike some tax-free awards.
Other notable winners at the awards included Randa Abdel-Fattah for the people's choice award with 'Discipline,' Omar Musa for fiction with 'Fierceland,' and Micaela Sahhar for non-fiction with 'Find Me at the Jaffa Gate.'
