П. O. is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n, working class

Working class

Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...

, anarchist, poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 of Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 origin.

Born in Katerini

Katerini

Katerini is a town in Central Macedonia, Greece, the capital of Pieria regional unit. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, at an altitude of 14 m. The town, which is one of the newest in Greece, has a population of 83,764...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, П. O. came to Australia with his family around 1954. After time in Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre

Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre

The Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre was a camp set up for receiving and training migrants to Australia during the post World War II immigration boom. The camp was set on near the small town of Bonegilla in north east Victoria, between the Hume Dam and the city of Wodonga...

, the family moved to the Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 suburb of Fitzroy

Fitzroy, Victoria

Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...

.

П. O. was inspired to start writing poetry in 1970 when he heard Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash

John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

 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

Concrete poetry

Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on....

, 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.

He has had numerous books published since his first, Fitzroy Brothel in 1974, more notably the epic verse novel 24hrs. From 1978 to 1983, he was involved in producing the radical poetry magazine 925. He is a fixture of Melbourne's performance poetry

Performance poetry

Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution.-History:...

 scene and has edited an anthology of performance poetry (Off the Record) for Penguin. His most recent book is Big Numbers: New and Selected Poems (2008).

External links

• The Poetry of Π Ο
• Pi O - An appreciation by Billy Marshall Stoneking
  Billy Marshall Stoneking
  Billy Marshall Stoneking is an Australian-American poet, playwright, filmmaker, and teacher. His son C.W. Stoneking is a musician.-Childhood and education:...
  
  
• visual poetry
• Visual Poetry by PiO
• 925 magazine
• http://hunterpublishers.com.au/Propaganda.php?year=2008&month=12Pi O Launches Oink, Oink, Oink by Eric Dando
  Eric Dando
  Eric Yoshiaki Dando , is a Melbourne writer, best known for the cult novel snail , although his short fiction has appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies, including Hot Type , Hot Sand , The Age , the Sleepers Alamanac, Going Down Swinging, Cordite, Undergrowth, Verity...
  
  ]
• The rime of the anarchist wog