Pete Mullineaux is a poet, dramatist, songwriter, author, musician and teacher – living in Galway, Ireland.
Contact: petemullineaux@gmail.com
Pete Mullineaux grew up in Bristol, UK – where, aged 13 his poem ‘Harvest Festival’ was published in Poetry & Song by Macmillan and Man & His Senses (Harrap) then recorded on Argo records alongside music from Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger. Moving to London, he played with the left wing rock/punk band, The Resisters, before going solo as Pete Zero, doing music and poetry gigs from Trafalgar Square to Glastonbury, appearing alongside such luminaries as The Pogues.
He appeared in Apples & Snake’s first anthology Raw & Biting Cabaret Poetry, won the City of London Poetry/song contest, toured a one man show: The Performers Fear of the Gong, (‘A Must!’ What’s On Magazine) and wrote for the Paul Merton fronted Comedy Wavelength (Channel 4). His first stage play, Wallflowers was presented by Kenneth Branagh’s Renaissance Theatre Co at the Riverside Studios in London. Alongside this he achieved a first class honours in Drama at Middlesex University.
Pete has lived in Galway since 1991, working as a creative writing facilitator and drama devisor with numerous arts/community groups and is a mentor on Poetry Ireland’s writers in schools scheme. He’s resident MC for the Galway Arts Centre run Cuirt International Festival of Literature Poetry Grand Slam. Drama works include Trust Games, (commissioned by the National Association of Youth Theatres in 2010) Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, commissioned for the Cuirt International Festival of Literature. He’s also had three plays broadcast on Irish radio – most recently Butterfly Wings, in 2011.
He has published four collections of poetry: Zen Traffic Lights (Lapwing 2005) A Father’s Day (Salmon Poetry 2008) Session (Salmon 2011) and How to Bake a Planet (Salmon 2016). His work has been described by various reviewers as ‘tender and lyrical’, ‘gorgeously resonant’ and ‘grimly funny’ – drawing comparisons with Brian Patten, Roger McGough & John Cooper-Clarke. Poems have been published as far afield as France, Spain, India and Japan and anthologised widely including the Paul Muldoon edited special edition of Poetry Ireland Review 100, poetrydaily.com and about.com/poetry.
He has also published Know Yourself Know the World – a drama resource for schools, centred on development themes within a sci-fi scenario, (Learning Horizons Educational Publishing, Dublin, 2004.) Pete has read at literary/arts festivals throughout Ireland, UK and also in New York. He was invited to address the 2008 Thomas Hardy Festival/conference in Dorchester, UK. He devised a poetry encounter ‘Tipping the Scales’ which took place as part of the 2012 Babaro Children’s International Arts Festival and in 2013 there was a long awaited return to Bristol for a reading at the Bristol Spring Poetry Festival. He also read at the Cheltenham Poetry Festival, Clifden Poetry Festivals in 2016. Just a Second – Exploring Global Issues through Drama & Theatre was published by Afri (Action from Ireland) in 2015.
Pete’s latest poetry collection How to Bake a Planet has already been featured on RTE’s flagship arts/culture show ARENA. His previous book, Session was all about music and sound, with a particular focus on Irish Traditional Music. It has been praised by Martin Hayes, Siobhan Long (trad editor for the Irish Times) and Micheal O Suilleabhain – head of the World Academy of Irish Traditional Music in Limerick.
‘Session, brought out by Salmon Poetry in 2011 is a beautiful magical book, soaked in waves of musical imagery and sound…written with impeccable craftsmanship, a delight on the ear and begs to be read out loud.’ – The Ranting Beast.
Pete Mullineaux Writer 