Gary Oliver is a writer, poet, and performer born in North Staffordshire in 1966. He spent much of his early years as a club MC and hip-hop rapper before pursuing higher education. Oliver holds a BA in Theatre and Performance from Staffordshire University and an MA in Applied Arts from the University of Manchester.
Oliver began writing poetry and short stories to pay for the magazine adverts of his coffee shop. His first book, Woodun Indians, sold out in six months, and he recently celebrated the launch of his book Dear Love Powa by serenading lovers on Valentine's Day. Oliver is widely regarded as one of the foremost and influential writer performance poets of his generation. His new book, SONNETS OF SOLACE, is a profound collection of work inspired by Shakespeare published by Quhwah publications on worldwide release.
In 1991/2, Oliver toured with Happy Mondays, and in 1994/5, he wrote The Rave Poems: BOMB MAGAZINE, a series of comic rhymes inspired by modern youth culture. In 1994, he became a promoter and DJ/MC at Sin City, a poetry and art club night. In 1994/5, he co-founded the Deep Theatre Group, and from 1996 to 1999, he co-founded, organized, and compared Sunday in the Park, an annual charity event.
In 1999, Oliver became a Quhwah Publications Author, and his works include Captured Letters: a collection of love Poems, Young Black Teenager: an epic verse lament tribute to Stephen Lawrence, Verbal Dexterity: In The Face Of Incredulity, Woodun Indians: a book of global stories, urban rhymes, and eco poetry, and DEAR LOVE POWA, a book of sonnets, love songs, and verse.
In 2000, Oliver founded and became the Director of Verbal Arts, an arts company based in North Staffordshire and serving the North West and Midlands. In 2002/3, he founded Trade, a live rap/poetry night, and in 2004, he started DJ SCHOOL, the first music and arts group for young people in the UK. In 2005, he published MC RAVE, a fictional book exploring the rave scene, and in 2007-2021, he opened the U7 Arts and Cultural Centre, an independent arts centre for young vulnerable artists.
In 2008, Oliver led the youth festival for Liverpool 08 city of culture, and in 2009, he led a project exploring War poets and contributed to a book called Remembrance Poets with a group of new writers, published by Quhwah. In 2010, he ran youth projects in Longsight Manchester to decrease anti-social behaviour and to increase participation in the arts and education. In 2011, he ran a series of small arts activity days across Staffordshire exploring the environment and mental health wellbeing in poor communities. Since 2012, he has been running a weekly multi-arts program drop-ins for people suffering from mental health problems. In 2015, he started u7 sound, an accessible sound and recording for poor artists. From 2017 to 2019, he expanded and developed the provision of arts at DJ School, and in 2020-21, he published SONNETS OF SOLACE, which is now available worldwide.
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