Craig McGregor is a writer and academic whose career has spanned many years and many iterations. He started as a journalist in the early 60s, wrote books on contemporary Australia, became a freelance feature writer and an expert on pop culture (on Bob Dylan in particular), and wrote fiction and poetry.

Yet, above all, he was a critical observer of Australian society. As a journalist and feature writer, he was an active and enthusiastic commentator on Australian politics and his accounts of the Whitlam dismissal make for fascinating reading. He befriended Bob Dylan on one of his early tours of Australia and was invited to Bob’s room to listen to the first acetates of Blonde on Blonde … and he made a few suggestions. His most provoking observations, however, are on the inequalities of contemporary Australia and the power of entrenched vested interests.

Mark Rubbo