Music can evoke memories and emotions and using that ability, Kay McKenzie Cooke has created a collection of poetry that highlights people and places from her past. Cooke grew up in the rural Southland of the 1950s and 60s and the song tracks, titles and lines she has used for inspiration in this collection take […]
Kiwi poetry a raw look at life Read Post »
Siobhan Harvey is an internationally recognised poet who has been critically acclaimed through receiving or being shortlisted for many awards. She won the Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award 2013 for her Cloudboy collection. These poems share what life is like with an autistic son. The point of view is Cloudmother’s, and she first compares her son
New Zealand poetry collections show depth Read Post »
Former New Zealand Poet Laureate Cilla McQueen has produced a cute little collection of poetic novellas that will appeal to her existing fans and also provide a great introduction to her work for new fans. Originally one of the works McQueen undertook during her time as Poet Laureate, the project titled Serial was published on
Whimsical work a little gem Read Post »
Christchurch based poet Gary Elford taught at three different schools on the Regent Street site now occupied by Aurora College, Invercargill, for 16 years, so many of you will know him. I thoroughly enjoyed this, his second poetry collection. The poems are evocative of the south. Several days since reading, these are the ones I remember
Southern connection in highly recommended poetry collection Read Post »
Writing poetry probably is not a common pastime for blokes working on the chain at the meatworks – but Terry Lynch is not most blokes. In an interview in The Press in 1995, the meatworker said he was almost scared to go back to work after coming out as a poet. However, his workmates were
Not your typical poet Read Post »
This massive 624-page beast of a book looks a little daunting at first glance but don’t let the size of the thing put you off. New Zealand has a diverse range of very talented people who have produced some amazing poetry, both in the past and right now. This diverse talent is celebrated in 99
Size doesn’t matter … even in poetry Read Post »
A touching collection of poems, Our Soldiers looks at the awful impact of World War I on the lives of ordinary Kiwis. Author Kate McColl spent a month in Belguim, funded by that country’s government, and has also included a selection of poems that covers the battlefields of Flanders. Her grandfather fought at Passchendale and
Honouring our soldiers in verse Read Post »
It may come as a surprise to some who know me when I say I like poetry. Not the flowery stuff of Shakespeare (no, that’s not an invitation for Shakespeare geeks to inundate me with reasons his poetry isn’t flowery) and not the new-age stuff that I can’t make head nor tail of. My favourite
C K Stead’s latest offering a real gem Read Post »
