Π.O.

Π.O. (Pi.O.) 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, Fitzroy Poems, Big Numbers: New and Selected Poems, and the two epic works 24 Hours and Fitzroy: The Biography. 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.

Titles

Poetry

560 pages
Paperback, 23.4 x 15.3 cm
Published October 2019
ISBN 9781925818208

An epic poem about history, painting, painters, patrons – from Louis Buvelot to Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton to Vassilieff, Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker, Joy Hester, the Boyds, Mirka Mora, and Albert Namatjira, with a particular focus on the artists gathered around Sunday and John Reed at Heide in Melbourne. Heide is about the Australian preoccupation with landscape, the dominance of a masculinist aesthetic, the sidelining and denigration of Indigenous art, the struggle of women artists to assert their influence and presence, and the impact of migration on Australian culture. It is a long poem made up of almost 300 poems, each bringing to life characters and incidents that are fleshed out in vivid detail and with a dramatic intensity unique in Australian poetry.

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Videos

A conversation between poet PiO, and Giramondo Publisher, Ivor Indyk, about PiO's Judith Wright Calanthe Award-winning book Heide. Hosted by Readings, 2020.