BIO DETAILS
Les Wicks
http://leswicks.tripod.com/lw.htm
ABN 80 327 486 926
Barking Wings (PressPress, 2012)
Shadows of the Read (Krok, 2011 in Ukrainian & English)
The Ambrosiacs (Island, 2009)
Stories of the Feet (Five Islands, 2004)
Appetites of Light (PressPress, 2002)
The Ways of Waves (SideWaLK, 2000)
Nitty Gritty (Five Islands Press, 1997)
Tickle (Island, 1993)
Cannibals (Rochford St Press, 1985)
The Vanguard Sleeps In (Glandular Press, 1981)
Barking
Wings
...cheeky, wry, slightly errant and wayward, sometimes perverse or wicked... Paul Cliff
...image piled up on image, words and sounds crashing to together and, even
when we can see ‘blue sky’ for a few lines, we are always aware that another
surprise is only a line break away. Mark Roberts Rochford
St Review
The
Ambrosiacs
Wicks’ The Ambrosiacs visual and tonal senses, shown through a series of relentless escapes and endscapes, create a striking depiction of the poet’s perceptions and observations. Matthew Hall Cordite
…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, Island
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
...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 Parnassus Joanne Burns
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
poetry in 3d leaving ‘grit under our fingernails.‘
Danny Gardner
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,
Bolton, Henry, Caldwell, Beach, Lysenko. Kevin Brophy
a harder voice Tom Thompson, National Times
…induces a love/hate suspension about the city Inprint
…good poetry… pifmagazine (US)
Readings/presentations/performance
of works go into the many hundreds but include: 2011
to date member Harbour City Poets. Tasmanian Poetry Festival (2011, 1998), Qld
Poetry Festival (2010, 2001), Overload (2009), 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, Sydney Writers’
Festival, 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 (many times), Castlemaine State Festival (2011), Noosa Long
Weekend (2011), Shoalhaven Poetry Festival (2002, 2005, 2007), Contemporary
Australian Fiction Festival (2007), Broken Hill Poetry Festival (2009).
Tours:
- 2013
International Poetry Festival Medellin
-
2011 International Literary Festival, Lviv, Ukraine
- 2009 12000km 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 Australian Poetry, State Library NSW,
Dover Heights TAFE, Sydney Festival, Long Bay Gaol, schools, NSW Writers'
Centre, Booranga Writers Centre, CSU – Bathurst &
Wagga, ECU, SCU, Nth RiversWC, Broken Hill Regional
WC, Tas WC, SCWC, SAWC, Words out West, FAWWA.
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 enjoys sustained hit statistics, publicises
both the host & the writers participating.
PRIZES
(rarely enters
competitions)
Nominated - 1980
Pushcart Press: Best of the Little Presses (US),
Finalist – -
2011 War Poetry Competition (US)
- Newcastle
Poetry Prize 1999
Highly Commended
- 2007 Broken Hill Poetry competition
- 2005 Vera Newsom Poetry Award
- 1998 Poetry Book Club of
Winner - 1997
1984
Judge:
2012
UNSWeetened Prize, Open your mind competition
2011,
2008 chair NSW Premier’s (Kenneth Slessor) Poetry
Prize, 2001 judge Slessor Prize
&
chair Community Affairs Commission Prize.
2010
Blake Poetry Prize
2010
Tom Collins Poetry Prize
2007
Shoalhaven FAW Poetry Prize
2001 Leichhardt Performance Poetry Prize
1995-1999 Sports/Olympic Poetry Competition
EDITED/ORGANISED
Includes: AU/UA: Contemporary Poetry of Ukraine and Australia (Krok, 2011), From this Broken Hill (Meuse, 2010), Guide to Sydney Beaches (Meuse, 2009). 2000 -2008 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. 1984-1997 to Sen Industrial Officer
Musicians Union & MEAA. 1990-93 Sec. NSWALP
Communications & Leisure Policy Committee. 1977-1981
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 (Ca),
Access, Afternoon (US), the Age, Alcubi Journal (US),
Animist, Antipodes (US), Arena (Vic), Arena (Mac. Uni), Ars
Poetica, Artlook,
Artransit, Artshub, Artsrush,
Ascent (Ca), Australian Reader, Australian Schools English Competition, The
Australian’s Review of Books, Avant Garde Times (Can), Bardflies, Barnwood (US), Benzine (US), Big
Bang, Blast, Blowback, Blue & Yellow Dog (US), 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), Contemporary Literary Review (Ind), Coppertales, Cordite, Cottonmouth, Crack the Spine (US), Crosslines, Divan, Dot Dot Dash, Eclecticism,
Ecopoetics (US), Elves, Essential Poetry, Eureka St, Eye
Socket Journal (US), Eye to the Telescope 2 (US), Famous Reporter, $5 Freedom,
Five Bells, foam:e, Four W, Free Xpression, Fulcrum
(US), Full of Crow (US), Funny Poets, Gangway(Austria), Going Down Swinging,
Gravity (US), Great Works (UK), Grepoetry (US),
Hatbox, Heartland, Heritage Light, Hermes, Hobo, Holland 1945, Homebrew,
Hotchpotch, Image, Imago, the Implosion (US), Indigo rising (UK), Inklings, Inprint, InsomAniac, Island, Ixion (UK), Jack
(US), Jacket, Juked (US), Kangaroo, Ken*again (US), Kurungabaa, Landscapes, Linq,
Last Taxi Review, loop (US), Lost &Found Quarterly (US), m.a.g. (US), Makar, Mandible
(US), Mascara, Mattoid, Meanjin, Meatloaf (US), Meuse, Melaleuca, Melic Review (US), Micropress
Yates, Midwest Coast Review (US), Misfits Miscellany (US), Moria
(US), Moveable Type, Narrator, Nepean Review, New England Review, Newcastle
Herald, Newswrite, Northern Perspectives, nthposition (UK), Numbat, Offset, onepoem.org (Ukr), Other Terrains, Otoliths, Over
the Bridge, Overland, Overlandexpress, OZpoet, P76, Page 17, Panic Attack (Can), Passing
Show, Peepshow (UK), Petrichor Review (US), Pifmagazine (US),
Perfect Diary, Petrichor Review (US), Pixel
Papers, Poem Box (US), Poem Niederngasse (Sw), Poesia, Poetry Book Club of
Australia, Poetry Downunder, Poetryespresso,
PoetryMagazine.com (US), Poetry Matters, Poetry Monash, Poetry Pacific (Ca), Polestar,
Pool, Positive Words, Predator of the Marvellous, Pressed, Private (It),
Prospect, psychic meatloaf (US), Quill
& Ink (Ind), Real 8 View (US), Reality
X (US), Red Room, Redoubt, Revue Brèves Littéraire (Ca), Right
Now, Ripples, Riverrun, Road of Shadows (US), Rochford St Review, Rust
& Moth (US), Salt Lick Quarterly, Scarp, SCOPP, Shades & Reflections
(US)Shampoo (US), Short & Twisted, Sidewalk, Silenced Press (US), Sketch, Small
Packages, Smorgasbord (US), Snorkel (NZ), Social Alternatives, Softblow (Si), Something Else, Southerly, Southern Ocean Review (NZ), Spindrift,
Springfield Gazette, Squidink, Stylus, Sugar Mule
(US), Swyntax, Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Mosaic,
Tam Tam (Italy, in translation), Tamba,
Tears in the Fence (UK), Text, Tharunka, The
disappearing, The Last Real Poetry, The Stone Hobo (US), The Tablet, The Write
Angle, Theory of Everything, Thirst, Thylazine,
Tweed, Union Recorder, Vehicle, Vernacular, verb-ate-him, Verse Land, Verso, Voice (US), Vsesvit Review
of World Literature(Ukr), Wandering Dog (UK), Westerly,
Windmills, Winning Writers (US), Wonder Book, Woorilla,
Word is Out, Word Salad (US), Write Angle, Written in Sand, Your Friendly
Fascist, yuryzavadsky (Ukr,
in trans).
Anthologies:
A Poet’s Journey into Spin, Anthology of the Illawarra, Antipodes, AU/UA
Contemporary Poetry of Ukraine & Australia (Ukr
& Au), Best Australian Poems, Billabong (Pol),
Earth Against Heaven , Extraterrestrial
Life (Ro), Falling angels (Cordite), First
Australian Haiku Anthology, from this Broken Hill, Golden Wings (In), Great
American Poetry Show Vol2 (US), Guide to Sydney Beaches, Hidden Hands, Light on
Don Bank, Lviv International Literature Festival Almanac (Ukr),
Metabolism, Mood Lightning, Moving Out Moving
On, Notes for translators (Ch), Ocarina Anthology (India, in translation), One
Minute To Midnight, Open Boat - Barbed Wire, Other Voices International Project
(US), Notes for the Translator, 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, Semaphore Dancing (PITP, 2009), Social Images 1891-1991,
Sunlines, Ten
Years Live, Teratoid, The Argument from Desire, The
Attitude of Cups, The Greenhouse,
The Selected Your Friendly Fascist, Thylazine
Australian Poets for Peace, Turnstiles
Review (US), 25 Australian Poets (Ca), UN Dialogue Among Civilisations Through
Poetry, Version (Russ. in trans), Wombats of Bundanon – 20 Australian Poets
(Ch, in trans), Writing the Pacific (Fi).
Last update February 2013
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