Nicholas Dewey

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Nicholas Dewey is an Australian poet, from Hobart in Tasmania. He attended New Town High School (Tasmania) and Elizabeth College, Hobart before leaving school to undertake a military career. In late 2002 he joined the Australian Army as a general infantryman, where he did tours of duty as a UN Peace Keeper in East Timor and the Solomon Islands. Consequently, his poems from this time often explore themes of separation and loneliness and are heavy with the symbol of the ocean as a barrier between loved ones.

He is the elder brother of Australian singer and composer Matthew Dewey, who has set numerous sets of Nicholas' poems to music including: Elegy - for soprano and percussion (first performed by Sarah Jones), and Compass for cambiata choir and piano (premiered by the Sydney Children's Choir). Nicholas also co-wrote the libretto for Matthew Dewey's opera 15 Years on Hold with the Matthew Dewey and Tasmanian writer Alexander Dick¹.