Peter Mitchell Peter Mitchell i(A117936 works by)
Born: Established: 1959 Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Male
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 Crows in His Eyes i "There are crows in his eyes", Peter Mitchell , 2024 single work poetry
— Appears in: Live Encounters , March 2024;
1 Allegiance Peter Mitchell , 2022 single work
— Appears in: StylusLit , March no. 11 2022;
1 Homecoming i "Was it the rainy moon? A longing for reanimation?", Peter Mitchell , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Writing Water 2020;
1 HIV Transmission i "Black cat streaks the bedroom. Her weight sags", Peter Mitchell , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: In Your Hands 2020; (p. 75)
1 Hole in the World i "Your curt gesture —", Peter Mitchell , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Eureka Street , 4 October vol. 30 no. 20 2020;
1 A Mug's Lament i "I know my provenance. I remember the fiery hearth, the potter's patient care.", Peter Mitchell , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Eureka Street , 4 October vol. 30 no. 20 2020;
1 At Torakina Park i "Three plover chicks prow Torkina Park, parents at their", Peter Mitchell , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Eureka Street , 4 October vol. 30 no. 20 2020;
1 Forgotten Sparks i "On the six-thirty news, a flaming crown rekindled forgotten", Peter Mitchell , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Australian Poetry Anthology 2019; (p. 23)
1 y separately published work icon Conspiracy of Skin Peter Mitchell , Port Adelaide : Picaro Press , 2018 15328205 2018 selected work poetry

New and selected poems.
 

1 Parallel Universe i "The man in the next bed is still there.", Peter Mitchell , 2018 single work poetry
— Appears in: StylusLit , September no. 4 2018;
1 Eyes as Fire i "A foot floors the accelerator. Flowers", Peter Mitchell , 2015 single work poetry
— Appears in: Verity La , December 2015;
1 Rushing In To War Tales Peter Mitchell , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 4 January 2014; (p. 48)

— Review of The Book Thief Michael Petroni , 2013 single work film/TV
1 4 y separately published work icon Compassionate Bastard : How an Ordinary Bloke Came to Manage Villawood Detention Centre and Still Live with Himself Peter Mitchell , Camberwell : Penguin , 2011 Z1801728 2011 single work autobiography

'Politicians outdo each other with tough measures to deal with asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. But someone has to look people in the eye and do the questioning, the arresting, the detaining and the deporting. For a time, that someone was Peter Mitchell.

'Hoping for a quiet public-service job, Mitchell walked into the Department of Immigration in 1990 and quickly found himself on the frontline of one of the nation's most divisive issues.

'With the wry humour shared by those in uniform, Mitchell describes his early years collaring illegal workers and visa overstayers. But things became a lot more challenging when he was appointed manager of the infamous Villawood Detention Centre, and later of Operation Safe Haven, ministering to the desperate flood of refugees from Kosovo and East Timor. How do you reconcile your sense of compassion with the demands of fair and proper procedure?

'For the first time, Compassionate Bastard takes us behind the razor wire to reveal the sometimes difficult, sometimes farcical processes our public servants are duty-bound to implement while dealing with people in traumatic circumstances.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 The Mountain as Pattern-Maker : Sustaining Relationships With Landscape in Rodney Hall's Just Relations Peter Mitchell , 2010-2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Landscapes , Summer vol. 4 no. 2 2010-2011; (p. 17-26)
1 Hector's Hands and Arthur's Vow Peter Mitchell , 2003 single work prose
— Appears in: Fabric of Blood and Flowers : Train Stories and Highway Songs 2003; (p. 7-9)
1 y separately published work icon Fabric of Blood and Flowers : Train Stories and Highway Songs Peter Mitchell , 2003 Tamworth : Peter Mitchell , 2003 Z1717598 2003 single work short story lyric/song poetry autobiography

Fabric of Blood and Flowers is a collection of stories, song lyrics, and poems that constitutes Peter Mitchell's major writing project for a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) degree through the University of Western Sydney. The collection is divided into two sections: 'Blood' (an autobiographical series of first-person 'journal' pieces about a songwriter's journey towards, around, and beyond Tamworth) and 'Flowers' (stand-alone fiction, mainly in the third person).

The pieces are collectively designed to address the 'creativity and originality' goals of the Creative Writing degree and therefore intentionally encompasses a variety of creative styles, voices, and literary genres.

1 Captains of the Music Industry i "Those were the days", Peter Mitchell , 1995 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Great Unknown 1995; (p. 118)
1 y separately published work icon The Great Unknown Peter Mitchell , Baulkham Hills : Mystery Women Management , 1995 Z1527313 1995 selected work autobiography poetry

An autobiography in song, The Great Unknown comprises a collection of stories, poems, and drawings, along with a triple compact disc set of songs which has been produced by Peter Mitchell and his younger brother Ian Mitchell. Their work together includes membership of several lyrical rock bands in the eighties and nineties.

The Great Unknown tells a story common to musicians based in a country where the population base will not sustain a particularly large industry - where the costs of promotion outweigh potential returns in the home population. This story is not unique to the music industry - it is a tune often sung in the film industry. However, unlike the film industry, the music industry with its smaller budget requirements has not attracted the government support of the film industry. The dilemma is an ongoing one facing independent and major record companies alike - how to capture a great live band and package them up appropriately so they might take their place in the age of video rock. A dilemma solved by relatively few bands - Midnight Oil, INXS, Hunters and Collectors are the exception rather than the rule. Mitchell's band, Captains of Industry, was not to enjoy the airwave space captured by the few elite bands. A change in fire restrictions changed the face of live music in pubs and caused the demise of many a good band. As Mitchell says himself : 'Many of my problems in life are the bitter fruits of this frustration. I have used it to excuse and justify all I have become. It is time to lay it to rest.' In laying it to rest, Mitchell offers it to us, the readers.

1 King of the Land Peter Mitchell , 1994 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Great Unknown 1995; (p. 112)
1 Holy to Me Peter Mitchell , 1994 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Great Unknown 1995; (p. 100)
X