Olszewski, Peter 1948-

views updated

Olszewski, Peter 1948-

PERSONAL:

Born 1948 in Australia.

CAREER:

Journalist in Australia and Myanmar. University lecturer in journalism. Founder, Australian Marijuana Party. Worked as a columnist for Truth newspaper, publicity director for the Australian tour of Hunter S. Thompson, and served as editor for many Australian publications, including the Australian edition of Playboy.

WRITINGS:

A Salute to the Humble Yabby, Angus & Robertson (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1980.

Land of a Thousand Eyes: The Subtle Pleasures of Everyday Life in Myanmar, Allen & Unwin (Crows Nest, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Australian Men's Health.

SIDELIGHTS:

In Land of a Thousand Eyes: The Subtle Pleasures of Everyday Life in Myanmar, Australian journalist Peter Olszewski tells the story of his sojourn in the secluded southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. Cut off from the rest of the world for years by a repressive military dictatorship, the people of Myanmar live life at a different pace than the rest of the world. Land of a Thousand Eyes records Olszewski's impressions of Myanmar, concentrating on the experiences of ordinary people rather than on its socialist-oriented government. Referring to the author, who was a consultant to an English-language paper in the city of Yangon (the former Rangoon), a Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote, "Olszewski led a privileged expatriate existence: attending parties and opening nights of cultural events, … [and] eyeing … passing women." "Some of Olszewski's revelations will enrage fellow expatriates," declared Irriwaddy News Magazine contributor David Scott Mathieson, "with references to cocaine snorting, dubious lady companions, the murky dealings of business people, and scenes of drunken debauchery that only those with money and diplomatic immunity are capable of." "Finally he falls in love with a local woman," concluded Robin Osborne in Northern Rivers Echo, "who [im]migrates to Australia to join him—proof that at least something can happily come out of Burma."