BIO DETAILS
http://leswicks.tripod.com/lw.htm
The Ambrosiacs (
Stories of the
Feet (
Appetites of Light (PressPress, 2002)
The Ways of Waves (SideWaLK, 2000)
Nitty Gritty (Five Islands Press, 1997)
Tickle (
Cannibals (Rochford St Press, 1985)
The Vanguard Sleeps In (Glandular Press, 1981)
The Ambrosiacs
…acutely observant, bitingly satirical and as unfailingly generous as ever. Ralph Wessman Famous Reporter
…an inspired elegy to human
suffering and loss, dark and morose at times yet engaging and full of life. Julie Waugh, Five Bells
…intense, quite relentless, often dark and pessimistic. But this of course is not the whole story, for within these pages are striking moments of grace, awareness, acceptance, restitution… joanne burns
...the poetry is firmly anchored in the recognisably here and now of the material world, craftily exploiting tensions between the natural world and the depredations of short-sighted materialism and consumerism. Cliff Forshaw
Stories of the Feet
We need a book like this once in a while to remind ourselves that poets document contemporary society in a way that social scientists never will. With Stories of the Feet, Les Wicks focuses his rearview mirror on us. Rob Walker, Cordite
Les is your tour guide to the real Australia, a land of Emus and Kangaroos indeed, also a land of dead bodies covered in sheets, or cold nights thumbing rides along deserted highways… Another fabulous book, from a great poet. Paul Gilbert, Above Ground Testing (Can)
Wicks’ penetrating gaze does indeed illuminate his Australian landscape; it is a gaze that makes the reader realise just how much is missed in the rush and bustle of everyday living. Glenda Guest, Artlook
This is a compact collection of narrative poems which covers an immeasurable distance in places and human nature. Ray Carmichael, Studio
…use of the Australian
landscape in different ways means that Wicks celebrates the Australian
landscape without being a landscape poet. Wicks moves nimbly through difference
in style, from the linguistically simple to the complex, with the same ease
that he shifts from the creation of settings to the use of identified locations
to explore the nature of the different characters who inhabit his poems. Helen Young, Philament
…full of humour
and dignity in the face of sheer survival. jeltje, Five Bells
inclusive Oliver Dennis,
An honest and
insightful attempt to see beyond subterfuge… Ralph Wessman, Famous Reporter
Appetites of Light
Wicks lights the desires, ideas, acceptance & epiphanies of his everyday Australian protagonists in a… rich, impressionistic, resonant way. Christine Ferrari
…a fresh, strong, humanistic voice… Patricia Prime, Stylus
The Ways of Waves
...summer through a sharply focused lens, a sudden wit and quick shifts of tone and mood. ...he is chameleon, restless, full of questions, refusing to be pinned down. Happily moving here & there, amused, bemused, shaking his head in disbelief, belief, in love with it all. Brook Emery
…a ‘passing show’ commentary on our beach culture…Helen Horton, Imago
encapsulates Australian beach culture….poems so bright you need Ray Bans. Smell the briny & the blockout; feel the salt in your hair, the sand in your socks… Mark O’Flynn, Famous Reporter
…this is very clever poetry…Gloria B Yates, Social Alternatives
Nitty Gritty
speaks out of the
agora, not just from the top of Mt
varied, nimble, humane, wry & well timed Jennifer
Maiden
wit & sparkle, the clever playfulness....warmth & compassion Tim Thorne FR
The portraits & voices of office workers, school boys & weary parents are hard & accurate. Carolyn Tetaz Cordite
Wizard of Wastelands Bev Braune ABR
....assembles an amazing cast of people in recognisable often dark places. With fine detail, their domestic & working lives are brilliantly portrayed. Anthony Lawrence
Others
In Australia, dramatic narratives, in a variety of
styles, still have a vitality that at least matches, perhaps outshines what
other English poetries can show…[“Two Ghosts…”] with its oral manner,
builds up an eerie tension… Christopher Pollnitz
, Ulitarra
atmospheres of ratbaggery Sydney
Morning Herald
grittiness the Age
personal & engaging, accessible & immediate Warwick Wynne, Australian Book Review
irony comes alive Pamela
Brown
Les' poetry has the romantic sneer of experience entrenched.... duck
ponds & screaming traffic Grant
Caldwell
marvellous humour, deft satire & the comfort of remembering Silvana Gardner, Imago
reveals contemporary issues with a biting irony Bruce Copping, Newcastle Herald
What was it like to
live now? Read Wicks, Brown,
…vivid & realistic… Honi Soit
a harder voice Tom Thompson, National Times
…induces a love/hate suspension about the city Inprint
…good poetry… pifmagazine (US)
Readings/performance of works go into the many hundreds but include: Art Gallery NSW, Harold Park Hotel, Kinselas, Sydney/Macquarie/Charles Sturt Unis, Martin Place, Long Bay Gaol, Montsalvat, Parliament House (NSW), National Poetry Centre (London), NSW Writers’ Centre, State Library NSW Literary Weekend (1998), several Sydney Festivals, Tasmanian Poetry Festival (1998), CBC (Can), Fiptr.com (Can), Radio National, 2BL, 2NC, 2UE, 2GB, 2JJJ, 2RES, 2SER, Writers' Radio, Australian Made Poetry, Regional ABC (Riverina, Nth Coast & Broken Hill), Australian Poetry Festival (1999, 2002, 2006), Overload (2009), Qld Poetry Festival (2001), Shoalhaven Poetry Festival (2002, 2005, 2007), Contemporary Australian Fiction Festival (2007).
Tours:
- 2009 book programme Adelaïde, Perth, Newcastle, West NSW
& Melbourne
- Festival International de la Poesie
2006 Quebec
- South Coast WC
workshopping project 2005
Book tour –
Melb., Wagga, Tumbarumba, Broken Hill 2004
Litlink Tour - SW &
Central West NSW 2000
Poets on
Wheels - Nth NSW 2000
Writer
in Residence: - FAWWA Established W-I-R 2009
-
Broken
Hill, December 2000 & August/September 2001
Booranga Writers
Centre,
Commitment
: professionalism, treat the audience with respect.
TUITION \ WORKSHOPS
Includes
State Library NSW, Dover Heights TAFE, Sydney Festival, Long Bay Gaol, schools,
NSW Writers' Centre, Booranga Writers Centre,
Offers
workshops featuring a no frills, practical guide to getting published in the
context of a supportive group environment. This template has worked most
effectively. Workshops are usually followed up by an issue of "Australian
Poetry Collaboration" (http://leswicks.tripod.com/apc.htm). This is regularly on the top 20 Google hit list
for Australian poetry, publicises both the host & the writers
participating.
PRIZES
Nominated
- 1980 Pushcart Press: Best of the Little Presses (US),
Shortlisted -
Highly Commended
- 2007 Broken Hill Poetry competition
- 2005 Vera Newsom Poetry Award
- 1998 Poetry Book Club of
Winner -
1997
1984
(rarely enters competitions)
Judge: 2001 & 2008
NSW Premier’s (Kenneth Slessor) Poetry Prize
& Community Affairs Commission Prize (2001)
2001
Leichhardt Performance Poetry Prize
1995-1999
Sports/Olympic Poetry Competition
EDITED/ORGANISED
Includes: 2009 Guide to Sydney Beaches. 2000 to
date co-organiser Poets on Wheels. 2002 Heritage Light including
publishing a poem on the surface of a river. 1998-2003 Written in Sand
Project. 1999-2000 temporary editor of Hobo. 1993 to date director
of Island Press. 1992-1999 Artransit Project. 1985 Musicians Union
Band Guide. 1978. 1984-1997 to Sen Industrial
Officer Musicians Union & MEAA. 1990-93 Sec. NSWALP Communications &
Leisure Policy Committee. -1981 Meuse Magazine, supplements &
anthologies. Part of Poets Union (NSW) original steering committee, Jnt Sec./Treas. (1979-80), Fed Secretary 1983.
PUBLICATION IN
MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS ETC.
&, Above Ground Testing (Can), Access, Afternoon
(US), the Age, Alcubi Journal (US), Animist,
Antipodes (US), Arena (Vic), Arena (Mac. Uni), Ars Poetica, Artlook, Artransit, Artshub, Artsrush, Ascent (Can),
Australian Reader, Australian Schools English Competition, Australian Reader,
The Australian’s Review of Books, Avant Garde Times (Can), Bardflies, Benzine (US), Big Bang, Blast, Blowback, Blue Dog, Blue
Giraffe, Blue Pepper, Bonfire (UK), Broadkill Review
(US), Bukker Tillibul,
Canberra Times, Centoria, Cha (HKSAR), Chaos Theory
(US), Cherry Bleeds (US), Compass, Coffee Connection (UK), Concelebratory
Shoehorn Review (US), Conspire (US), Coppertales,
Cordite, Crosslines, Divan, Eclecticism, Ecopoetics (US), Elves, Essential Poetry, Eureka St, Famous
Reporter, $5 Freedom, Five Bells, foam:e, Four
W, Free Xpression, Fulcrum (US), Funny Poets,
Gangway(Austria), Going Down Swinging, Gravity (US), Great American Poetry Show
(US), Great Works (UK), Grepoetry (US), Hatbox,
Heartland, Heritage Light, Hermes, Hobo, Holland 1945, Homebrew, Hotchpotch,
Image, Imago, the Implosion (US), Inklings, Inprint, InsomAniac, Island, Ixion
(UK), Jacket, Juked (US), Kangaroo, Ken*again (US), Linq, Last Taxi Review, loop (US), m.a.g.
(US), Makar, Mascara, Mattoid, Meanjin,
Meuse, Melic Review (US), Micropress
Yates, Moria (US), Moveable Type, Nepean Review, New
England Review, Newcastle Herald, Newswrite, Northern
Perspectives, Nth Position, Numbat, Other Terrains, Over the Bridge, Overland, Overlandexpress, OZpoet, P76,
Panic Attack (Can), Passing Show, Peepshow
(UK), Pifmagazine (US), Perfect Diary, Pixel
Papers, Poem Box (US), Poem Niederngasse (Sw), Poesia, Poetry Book Club of
Australia, Poetry Downunder, Poetryespresso,
Poetry Magazine (US), Poetry Matters, Poetry Monash, Polestar, Pool, Positive
Words, Predator of the Marvellous, Pressed, Private (It), Quill & Ink
(Ind), Real 8 View (US), Reality X (US), Red Room, Redoubt, Revue Brèves Littéraire (Can), Ripples, Riverrun, Road of Shadows (US), Salt Lick Quarterly, Scarp, SCOPP, Shampoo (US),
Sidewalk, Silenced Press (US), Small Packages, Smorgasbord (US), Social
Alternatives, Softblow, Southerly, Southern
Ocean Review (NZ), Spindrift, Springfield Gazette, Squidink,
Stylus, Sugar Mule (US), Swyntax, Sydney Morning
Herald, Sydney Mosaic, The Tablet, Tam Tam (Italy, in
translation), Tamba, Tears in the Fence (UK), Text, Tharunka, The Last Real Poetry, The Write Angle, Thirst, Thylazine, Tweed, Union Recorder, Vehicle, Vernacular,
Verso, Voice (US), Wandering Dog (UK), Westerly, Woorilla,
Word is Out, Write Angle, Written in Sand, Your Friendly Fascist.
Anthologies: A Poet’s Journey into Spin (PUI), Anthology of
the Illawarra (fip), Best Australian Poems 2006,
Billabong (Polish, in translation), Earth Against Heaven (fip),
First Australian Haiku Anthology, Golden Wings (India), Hidden Hands, Light on
Don Bank, Mood Lightning, Moving Out Moving On, Ocarina Anthology (India,
in translation), One Minute To Midnight, Open Boat - Barbed Wire, Other Voices
International Project (US), Poems
in Perspex: Max Harris Poetry Award 2007, Poets Choice (several years),
Poets in the Forest, Sand in our Souls – the Beach in Australian Culture
& History (MUP), Social Images 1891-1991, Sunlines,
Ten Years Live, Teratoid, The Argument from Desire
(Newcastle Poetry Prize, 1999), Thylazine’s
Australian Poets for Peace, 25 Australian Poets ( Canada, in trans), UN
Dialogue Among Civilisations Through Poetry, Version (Russ. In trans), Writing the Pacific (
¯