Formal Education: *Matriculation 1968 Kew High School, Victoria. *B.Sc.Hons[Microbiology] 1973, Monash University, Victoria. *MA [Creative Writing] 1996, University of Queensland, Queensland.
Employment History:
*1974-1975 Research Microbiologist, Kraft Foods Ltd..
In charge of research lab, preparing cultures for cheese production and analysis for viral contamination.
*1975-1976 Outreach Youth Worker, Australian Greek Welfare Society, Richmond, Victoria.
*1976-1978 Director, Richmond Child Care and Family Centre.
After leaving Kraft I joined a welfare organisation which was active in the lobbying for ethnic welfare rights and the provision of services to non-english speaking australians.
As outreach youth worker I was able to demonstrate a need for childcare, youth, and elderly services, and subsequently able to convince government by way of submission that a community centre was needed in the Richmond area that catered for the predominantly Greek speaking residents of the area.I was appointed as the Director of the community centre when it opened in 1976, and established the first bilingual bicultural childcare centre in Australia.
*1978-1980 Travel Consultant, Jetset Tours, Melbourne.
*1980-1983 Coffee Lounge Proprietor, Tsakpina Coffee Lounge, Melbourne.
I left the welfare field in 1978 to try and succeed in the commercial world.
After two years as travel organiser for the annual Greek Government sponsored tour of Greece for the National Union of Greek Australian students I went out into private business in a coffee lounge.
*1983-1984 Youth Services Officer, A.G.W.S, Richmond, Victoria.
*1984-1985 Welfare Worker Trainer, Department of Community Services, Melbourne, Victoria.
I returned to the welfare field this time as a trainer of youth workers, and then of bi-lingual welfare workers.
In both cases I was responsible for the theoretical and field training of these workers.
*1985-1994 Professional Writer, Performer and Creative Writing Workshop Facilitator[please refer to linked pages].
In 1985 I decided to try and earn a living as a performance poet, I had been writing and performing poetry since the days of being a cafe proprietor, and I believed (perhaps naively at the time) that performance poetry could and would be accepted by the general public, and that a living was there to be made from something I also enjoyed.
During this time I also designed and taught courses of creative writing and writing for performance to first year arts students, second year nurses, second year design students, and Masters candidates in Social Ecology.
*1995 Student, Masters of Arts in Creative Writing, University of Queensland.
After earning a living from performing poetry, publication and teaching of poetry for ten years I decided to consolidate things I had learnt and also take some time to develop my skills in a new area.
i enrolled as a Masters student and learnt computers, postulating and resolving the creation of cyberpoetry, a computer generated poetry using text as characters in animations, sound, images and other devices available to multimedia.
this is poetry that can not be published in the traditional print medium.
*1996 Enrolled as PhD student in English at University of Queensland studying performance poetry in Australia since 1960 and the internet as an avenue for publication and performance.
Selected performances of Cyberpoetry.
Other Interests/Skills:
Speak conversational Greek.
Play a Turkish Baglama[long necked lute, self-taught]
Enjoy drawing and painting.
Literary Qualifications:
A: Books Published and Works Performed:
i/ Books Published.
ii/ Works Performed.
iii/ Audio Publications.
B: Works Published in Literary Journals
ii/ Anthologies.
iii/ Works quoted in other Publications.
C: Other Literary Qualifications:
i/ Awards.
D: Creative Writing- Community Residencies.
i/ Community Residencies.
ii/ University Residencies.
iii/ Publications Resulting From Residencies.
E: Casual Teaching in Creative Writing at University Campuses
F: WORDSPORTS.
G: Performances/Readings/Recitals of my Work.
H: Television Appearances.