Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1964, Justin Lowe (eMail • blog) spent much of his formative years on the Spanish island of Minorca, an experience around which he is busy shaping a novel. After completing his studies, Justin moved to England before settling back in Newtown for the duration of the '90s. There, he edited seminal Homebrew and published two collections of poetry, as well as penned songs for such diverse musical outfits as The Whitlams, The Impossibles, and Sydney jazz diva Lily Dior. He also composed dithyrambic text for the annual Mascon Festival.

Justin currently resides in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. In the recent past, he completed a poetry commission for the 2004 Sydney Festival, recorded a poem for the Red Room Company's Poetry Crimes project, and appeared at the 2005 Sydney Writers Festival.

Justin has been published all over the world and is currently negotiating the rights to a film script based on Henry Lawson's tragic marriage to Bertha Bredt. He is also preparing his second novel, The Wordman, for publication and is busy compiling a collection of his poetry, published over the last several years, for a book entitled Glass Poems. Justin writes the occasional review for magazines such as Cordite, receiving nothing but hugs and fragrant bouquets for his efforts.

Justin's publications include: Poetry: Try Laughter (Deadpan Press, 2000); Humanesque (Zeus Publications/Ebookland, 2001); Glass Poems (BluePepper, 2006); and Fiction: Hang on St Christopher (Ninderry Press, 2003).

The Great Big Show (Lulu), is Justin Lowe's book from which the four poems to the left derive. It is largely set in Kenya, during World War I's East African campaign of 1914-18.