Pi O

П. O.
Born1951 (age 74–75)
OccupationPoet
Writing career
Notable awards2024 Patrick White Award winner

П. O. (or Pi O, born 1951) is a Greek-Australian, working class, anarchist poet.

Biography

Born in Katerini, Greece, in 1951, П. O.'s family moved to Australia around 1955. They settled in Fitzroy after several months in a Bonegilla migrant camp.

П. O. was inspired to start writing poetry in 1973 when he heard Johnny Cash reciting (religious) poetry while tuning his guitar. П. O. thought he could do as well or better. His work ranges from standup-type rants to 'conceptual' page poetry and concrete poetry, with a heavy emphasis on wordplay and capturing the vitality of everyday speech. Thematically, he commonly portrays the issues of non-Anglo-Celtic working class life.

П. O. won the 2020 Judith Wright Calanthe Prize for Poetry for Heide at the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards. He is a finalist for the 2021 Melbourne Prize for Literature. In 2024 he won the Patrick White Literary Award.

Bibliography

Poetry collections

Edited

Selected critical studies and reviews of O's work

Big numbers : new and selected poems

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Evans, Brad; Pi O (2000). "Pi O interviewed by Brad Evans". Cordite Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 June 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  2. ↑ Koval, Ramona; Pi O (2008). "Poetic anarchy: Pi O". Radio National. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ "Book about rugby league takes out richest prize in Queensland Literary Awards". www.abc.net.au. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Melbourne Prize for Literature finalists announced". Books+Publishing. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Pi-O wins 2024 Patrick White Literary Award". Books+Publishing. Retrieved 25 October 2024.