Todd Turner

Todd Turner is an Australian poet. Born in 1971, he has lived in Western Sydney since childhood. His parents were from farming families in Koorawatha, a town on the Western Plains of NSW. They moved to Sydney in 1959. Turner currently resides in Parramatta where he lives and works.

In 1987 Turner was apprenticed as a jeweller with a fine jewellery manufacturing house in Sydney. He worked alongside craftsmen and women who not only taught him the techniques of his craft, but also instilled in him a deep interest in art and literature. Upon completing his apprenticeship he travelled extensively throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In 1993 he returned to Sydney to establish his own jewellery studio. Turner began writing poetry in 2004 and since then has divided his time in the studio between making fine jewellery and working on his poems.

Turner's first book of poetry Woodsmoke was published by Black Pepper Publishing in 2014. Many of the poems are located around Parramatta and country NSW, exploring a sense of place, as well Turner’s personal and family history. The poems have been widely published and recognised, appearing in publications such as Meanjin, The Australian, Quadrant, Cordite and Southerly. Woodsmoke has been reviewed in Australian Poetry Journal, Australian Book Review, The Weekend Australian, Cordite and Australian Poetry Review. Turner has been shortlisted in the Newcastle Poetry Prize, the Blake Poetry Prize, the Henry Kendall Poetry Prize, and he was joint winner of the 2013 Jean Cecily Drake-Brockman Prize.