Les Murray, a distinguished figure of Australian letters, has died at the age of 80 on Monday after a long illness.
One of Australia's most successful and renowned contemporary poets, Murray's career spanned more than 40 years. He published close to 30 books, including most recently a volume of collected works through Black Inc.
The publisher issued a statement on Monday afternoon, saying: “We mourn his boundless creativity, as well as his original vision. His poetry created a vernacular republic for Australia, a place where our language is preserved and renewed … Les was frequently hilarious and always his own man. He would talk with anyone, was endlessly curious and a figure of immense integrity and intelligence.”
Murray's agent of 30 years, Margaret Connolly, told the ABC he died on Tuesday at a nursing home at Taree, not far from where he born in Nabiac on the New South Wales north coast.
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