Pi O - a poet who draws on the ocker and migrant dialect

Sep 14, 2004

The current Artist-in-Residence at UOW's Faculty of Creative Arts' School of Journalism and Creative Writing, "Pi O" is considered the first poet to use the ocker and migrant dialect he was exposed to in the 1970s.

Pi O began his poetry career in suburban Melbourne, writing of inner city life, poetry set in the workplace, love and political issues with a focus on aural and oral performance poetry.

As part of Pi O's two-week residency at the University (13-24 September) he will be discussing Australian/ Urban poetry to university students and staff and will be performing his poetry at the Wollongong City Gallery on Thursday 23 September accompanied by Experimental Sound Artist Warren Burt who will apply 'voice modification' techniques to the performance.

Pi O also writes 'Visual' poetry and is excited by a recent collaboration established with other visual poets in Italy, who are keen to publish a booklet of his Number Poems - poetry which involves replacing words and letters with numbers.

And of his name? Pi O represents his true initials, a symbol of his balance, his love of mathematics, anonymity and his function as a poet (the manipulation of words and letters). He has used Pi O as his name since the 1970s and will continue to do so for as long as he writes poetry.

Pi O has performed his poetry throughout the US, has attended the Medellin Poetry Festival in Columbia and the Berlin Poetry Festival in 2003. More recently he was involved in radio broadcasts for the 22nd Greek Festival in 2004.

Media enquiries to Pi O can be made through Dale Dumpleton ph: 4221 3190 or e-mail: dale_dumpleton@uow.edu.au or Mr Alan Wearne ph: 4221 4098.

For more information, contact:

media@uow.edu.au
University of Wollongong
Ph: (02) 4221 5942; fax (02) 4221 3128