π.ο. is a legendary figure in the Australian poetry scene, born in Greece and brought up in Fitzroy, the chronicler of Melbourne and its culture and migrations, a highly disciplined Anarchist who has worked as a draughtsman for forty years to support his family and his art. He is the publisher of Unusual Work by Collective Effort Press, a long-time magazine editor, a pioneer of performance poetry in Australia, and the author of many collections, including Panash (Collective Effort, 1978) Fitzroy Poems (Collective Effort, 1989), Big Numbers: New and Selected Poems (Collective Effort, 2008), and the two epic works 24 Hours (Collective Effort, 1996) and Fitzroy: The Biography (Collective Effort, 2015). Heide, the third book in this monumental trilogy, was published by Giramondo in 2019 and won the 2020 Judith Wright Calanthe Award, Australia’s most prestigious poetry prize. His latest book of poetry from Giramondo is The Dirty T-Shirt Tour (2023).

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