Michael O'Leary

Michael O'Leary is a poet, novelist, publisher, performer and bookshop proprietor who has been a magnetic figure for many other contemporary New Zealand writers. He writes in both English and Māori; and his diverse and prolific work in poetry, fiction and non-fiction explores his dual heritage: Māori on his maternal side and Irish Catholic on his father's as well as his mother's. Born in Auckland in the year of the Tiger 1950, he was educated at the universities of Auckland, Otago (Dunedin), and Victoria University (Wellington). His Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop imprint (inspired by Andy Warhol's 'Factory', the Beatles' Apple label, and John and Yoko's 'Plastic Ono Band'), which he founded in 1984, has published some of his own prolific output, as well as many other New Zealand writers. This press has also featured books by writers from other countries, including the first versions of Richard Berengarten's series, Manual, in four mini-books (2005-2009). The 240-page A-Z compilation, 25 Years of the Earl of Seacliff (ed. Mark Pirie, 2009), documents Michael O'Leary's versatile and influential oeuvre. Michael O'Leary is a trustee for the Poetry Archive of New Zealand Aotearoa (PANZA), a charitable trust dedicated to archiving, collecting and promoting New Zealand poetry. He now lives in Paekakariki, north of Wellington. O'Leary writes about his art work and his book 'Artist' published in 2012: "It shows the influence on my work of John Lennon and also shows my growing interest in art as I went to university and studied art history, as well as doing both a commercial art course and 'pre-lim' for Elam Art School in Auckland. However, I became interested in Dada and Surrealism, particularly Marcel Duchamp, which rendered me incapable of taking formal art seriously and I also was living the dissolute 'Artist' lifestyle far too much to actually become an artist!!! Therefore, most of my early artwork got lost down the black hole of bohemia.

"During the early 1970s I met many other artists who were involved in the Auckland art scene, which was quite lively in those days and often centred around the Barry Lett Gallery. This was a place of many great art exhibitions and much drinking. I did my 'Get Out' series of McCahon satires after seeing his 'Jet Out' exhibition there, and that set the pace for my often satirical art and writing style. I was friends with many of the artists at the time in Auckland. Tony Fomison, Michael Illingworth, Arthur Baysting, Janet Bayly, the Harold/Bailey Gang, Jackie Gilmore, Herman Gladwin, Ruffo, Winsome Aroha and many others too numerous to mention, all of whom have inspired and influenced me. I was also involved with some theatre activity and was friends with the Living Theatre Group. One of the performances I was involved with was a rendition I did of Ginsberg's poem 'Howl' for which I dressed up in long black robes. It was around this time I first met David Eggleton when we were both in a production called 'Stomach Cabaret'. This was the first of many collaborations he and I have worked on over the years. In the 1970s/1980s people like John Pule, Bill Dacker, Peter Olds, Greg O'Brien, Robin Swaney-McPherson, Wayne Seyb, Sandra Bell, would become inspirations and friends.

Most of my childhood and teenage years I spent drawing and painting but I ended up writing poetry and novels. However, my artwork was always on the back-burner, and even my prose and poetic styles display an artistic sensibility with their vivid imagery and I have always considered myself an artist whether this is manifested in words or on canvas is immaterial. In 2011 I completed a PhD at Victoria University (see my Amazon kindle book (Wednesday's Women) and since then I have gone back to drawing and painting. Having written so many words I find it is now time to express myself visually again. Of course, as this book shows I have never given up the pen or brush entirely, and this record of my artwork over the intervening years shows my love of the drawn and painted image. I hope that combining my words with my art is an interesting and enjoyable experience".

Michael O'Leary - Paekakariki, 2015