AustLit

24 Hours, an encyclopedic portrait of Fitzroy in the 1990s, was rejected by six publishers before being published by Collective Effort Press, the members of which are thanked on page 4. On page 2, there is a poetic version of the legal disclaimer ('All characters in this book/ are fictitious. Any resemblance/ to anyone living or dead/ i consider/ a compliment.') and on page 3 a dedication to his sister Athena ('He's great/ He's fantastic/ I'm brilliant/ I'm his sister'). In a commercially published book, these opening pages wouldn't be remarkable, but, as Pi.O. has complete creative control over 24 Hours-from the quote on page 5 ('Don't quote me;/ That's what you heard/ not what/ i said./ - Lawrence K. Frank') to the type-writer font and layout, author-drawn sketches and symbols throughout, right up to the photograph on the final page of the appendix-all aspects of the book as an artifact appear to influence the poem as an annotation. As his voice, face and gesture would be inextricably linked to the performance of his poetry, so too is the book's appearance important to Pi.O.'s written poetry, particularly in the case of 24 Hours.