Tag: Award winning poets

National Poetry Day: readings, interviews and a poetry launch!

Tess

Friday August 25th is Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day! To celebrate we’re diving into our video archives to showcase Pōneke’s talented and thriving community of poets, many of which have blessed us with intimate readings, revealing interviews and special events over the years.

As we celebrate the magic of poetry across Aotearoa, watch as these poets give us a sneak peek behind their creative processes and perform readings of their works.

And don’t miss our upcoming poetry launch at Te Awe Library, read on for all the event details…

Continue reading “National Poetry Day: readings, interviews and a poetry launch!” →

The Meow Gurrrls Poetry Launch Event 7 September

Neil

The Meow Gurrrls poetry launch: Te Awe Library event.

Iconic Wellington poetry collective The Meow Gurrrls are launching their latest poetry collection Famdamily, and we are lucky enough to be hosting their launch!

Te Awe Library

Thursday 7 September

6.00pm -7.00pm

Facebook event listing

Join us for an evening of unmissable new poetry from these acclaimed wordsmiths. The evening will feature readings from six of the group, and promises to be an evening full of feats of verbal gymnastics and poetic daring.

The poets who will be reading at this very special event are:

Janis Freegard

Kirsten Le Harivel

Mary Jane Duffy

Mary Macpherson

Abra Sandi King

Sudha Rao

The Meow Gurrrls are a group of Wellington and Kāpiti Coast poets, named in part after Meow café/bar in Wellington where the group meet, who for some time now have been sharing poetry, wine, food and fine company.

Their first joint collection of poems called Meowing. Part 1, The Meow Gurrrls’ little book of poetry is also available at the library.

Continue reading “The Meow Gurrrls Poetry Launch Event 7 September” →

Congratulations to Chris Tse, Aotearoa’s new Poet Laureate

Neil

Huge congratulations to the totally wonderful Chris Tse, who has just been announced as Aotearoa New Zealand’s new poet laureate. A dynamic, charismatic, stylish and powerful poet, Chris will be a fabulous advocate for the diversity and richness of all aspects the Aotearoa New Zealand’s poet community.

Chris was born in Lower Hutt and studied Film and English literature at Victoria University, completing an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters, and often celebrates his background as an openly queer Asian-Kiwi writer.

Chris started his poetry writing journey  at the age of sixteen  stating “he felt he’d finally found something he could pursue.” In a recent interview with Radio NZ he also stated “Poetry has always been this constant. It’s the thing I reach for, for comfort and connection, it’s helped me make wonderful friendships and relationships with people. It’s been a significant part of my life,”.

A little while back we had the great pleasure of having Chris reading for us and below is that reading, as well as a selection of his works.

Super model minority / Tse, Chris
“From making boys cry with the power of poetry to hitting back against microaggressions and sucker punches, these irreverent and tender poems dive headfirst into race and sexuality.” (Adapted from Catalogue). Also available as an eBook.

 

 

he’s so MASC / Tse, Chris
“In How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes, Chris Tse took readers back to a shocking 1905 murder. Now he brings the reader much closer to home. He’s So MASC confronts a contemporary world of self-loathing poets and compulsive liars, of youth and sexual identity, and of the author as character–pop star, actor, hitman, and much more. These are poems that delve into worlds of hyper-masculine romanticism and dancing alone in night clubs. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook. 

How to be dead in a year of snakes / Tse, Chris
“In 1905, white supremacist Lionel Terry murdered the Cantonese gold prospector Joe Kum Yung to draw attention to his crusade to rid New Zealand of Chinese and other east Asian immigrants. Author Chris Tse uses this story–and its reenactment for a documentary a hundred years later–to reflect on the experiences of Chinese migrants of the period, their wishes and hopes, their estrangement and alienation, their ghostly reverberation through a white-majority culture. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

Out here : an anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ writers from Aotearoa
“A remarkable anthology of queer New Zealand voices. We became teenagers in the nineties when New Zealand felt a lot less cool about queerness and gender felt much more rigid. We knew instinctively that hiding was the safest strategy. But how to find your community if you’re hidden? Aotearoa is a land of extraordinary queer writers, many of whom have contributed to our rich literary history. But you wouldn’t know it. Decades of erasure and homophobia have rendered some of our most powerful writing invisible. Out Here will change that. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

No other place to stand : an anthology of climate change poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand
“What, then, for the work of poetry? It’s at the very periphery of popular speech, niche even among the arts, yet it’s also rooted in the most ancient traditions of oral storytelling, no matter where your ancestors originate from. And, as we were reminded by an audience member at the New Zealand Young Writers Festival in 2020, who are we to say poetry cannot change the world?A poem may not be a binding policy or strategic investment, but poems can still raise movements, and be moving in their own right.” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.
New Zealand’s China experience : its genesis, triumphs, and occasional moments of less than complete success
“New Zealand’s China Experience collects fiction, poetry, personal accounts, historical narrative, anecdotes, transcribed oral narratives, newspaper articles and more, all bearing in one way or another on New Zealand perceptions of China and contacts with China and the Chinese. The book is richly illustrated with photographs, paintings, posters, and cartoons, and includes photographs by Brian Brake, George Silk, and Tom Hutchins, and three works by the contemporary artist Kerry Ann Lee. ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Overdrive cover A Clear Dawn, Paula Morris (ebook)
“This landmark collection of poetry, fiction, and essays by emerging writers is the first-ever anthology of Asian New Zealand creative writing. A Clear Dawn presents an extraordinary new wave of creative talent. With roots stretching from Indonesia to Japan, from China to the Philippines to the Indian subcontinent, the authors in this anthology range from high school students to retirees, from recent immigrants to writers whose families have lived in New Zealand for generations. Some of the writers—including Gregory Kan, Sharon Lam, Rose Lu, and Chris Tse.” (Overdrive description)

Interview: Aotearoa NZ Poet Laureate David Eggleton

Neil

Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poet Laureate David Eggleton is well known throughout the land for his  engaging and dynamic  readings, often performed with a quick-fire delivery and utilising words and language that deliver a constant stream  of images. Described by reviewers as a jazz-bop-beatnik poet, David has so far released over 18 books of poetry, not to mention books on the New Zealand music scene and photography.

During his long and illustrious career David has won numerous awards and accolades such as The Robert Burn’s Fellowship, won “on five separate occasions” the Montana New Zealand Book Awards Book Reviewer of the Year, has been awarded the PEN Best First Book of Poetry award, as well as taking part in the slightly more unusual Ranters Cup and the Poetry Olympics. He is the only New Zealander to have won the London Time Out’s Street Entertainer of the Year. In addition, David has produced several short films, CDs and documentaries. David was appointed the New Zealand Poet Laureate in 2019 and has also received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Poetry.

Just recently he has undertaken a nationwide tour with the Mad Doggerel Cabaret featuring fellow poet Daren Kamali co-founder of the South Auckland Poets’ Collective. Daren  is also a highly accomplished performance poet, as well as a musician. Daren Kamali’s works are often based on Polynesian and Pasifika legends and his own life story, with  the final part of the Mad Doggerel Cabaret trio being Dunedin-based classical guitarist Richard Wallis .

In the Mad Doggerel Cabaret the trio present a lyrical, vivid, and lightning-fast comic portrait of Aotearoa New Zealand and its place in the South Pacific today.

You can catch a special free performance of the Mad Doggerel Cabaret  at the National Library Wellington on  Friday 26 August  to celebrate National Poetry Day. Find more details of their national tour here.

When David agreed to be interviewed about his latest venture, his time as poet laureate and his poetry career in general, we jumped at the chance. We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to David for taking time out of his busy schedule and for such a fabulous, fascinating, and informative interview.

This interview was done in conjunction with Caffeine and Aspirin, the arts and entertainment review show on Radioactive FM. You can hear the full interview, as well as find a wide selection of David’s poems available to borrow, below:

 

Keep an eye open for our other fantastic National Poetry day online readings coming soon.

Time of the icebergs : poems / Eggleton, David
“Much of Time of the Icebergs was written while David Eggleton was a Writer-in-Residence at the Michael King Writers Centre in Auckland in 2009. These are poems about the world we live in, tracing a dystopian present ‘hurtling globalisation’s highway’ where ‘Google tells Google that Google saves’. As he says ‘I think of it as a collection for browsing and discovering things: soundscapes, seascapes, landscapes, contemporary politics and contemporary people, histories, traditions, and other things besides.'” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

The conch trumpet / Eggleton, David
“The Conch Shell calls to the scattered tribes of contemporary New Zealand. It sounds the signal to listen closely, critically and ‘in alert reverie’. David Eggleton’s reach of references, the marriage of high and low, the grasp of popular and classical allusion, his eye both for cultural trash and epiphanic beauty, make it seem as if here Shakespeare shakes down in the Pacific. There are dazzling compressions of history; astonishing paens to harbours, mountains, lakes and rivers; wrenchingly dark, satirical critiques of contemporary politics, of solipsism, narcissism, the apolitical, the corporate, with a teeming vocabulary to match …” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Fast talker / Eggleton, David
“This dynamic poetry collection combines punchy political and social awareness with tender observations of everyday life. Embracing a wide variety of subjects, these poems constantly shift in tone and rhythm, ranging from hard-hitting “rants” on the South Pacific, the media, big business, war, and capitalism to gentle lyricisms on love, travel, and the landscapes that the author calls home. Part showman patter, part incantation, part prophetic diatribe, these writings display an energetic and witty style that masterfully merges forceful images with inventive language.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Empty orchestra / Eggleton, David
“”Lyrics from a karaoke bard, raps and chants about the place and the people, gestures towards the ultimate poem – Empty Orchestra is a personal diary, of a public history, a demographic pie chart, a vision thing. It says that nowadays we are so saturated with media – layer upon layer – that all we have to go on, in an age of fragmentation, are misreadings, misunderstandings, collective delusions, individual obsessions. The karaoke machine is a pre-eminent cross-cultural symbol.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Ready to fly / Eggleton, David
“A survey and celebration of 50 years of New Zealand popular music. Jammed full of photos, and with a colourful and exuberant text, it is the first book on New Zealand popular music published in 15 years.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

Into the light : a history of New Zealand photography / Eggleton, David
“Into the Light is a serious, but readable history of photography in New Zealand. It provides a comprehensive survey of New Zealand’s most significant photographers and is aimed at a general audience. The photographers featured include early colonial professionals such as the Burton Brothers, George Valentine, and William and Fred Tyree, along with those documenting New Zealand’s burgeoning identity in the twentieth Centurey, such as John Pascoe during World War II and the gritty, authentic photography of Les Cleveland. Current senior practioners, such as Marti Friedlander, Peter Peryer, Ans Westra, Anne Noble and Laurence Aberhart all are represented, along with more contemporary practitioners such as Fiona Pardington, Gavin Hipkins and Yvonne Todd.”(Adapted from Catalogue)

Towards Aotearoa : a short history of 20th century New Zealand art / Eggleton, David
“A handsome hardback illustrated collection of the very best examples of art (painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography) produced in New Zealand over 100 years from 1901 to 2001. David Eggleton gives a short, informative and accessible history of NZ art to accompany his selection of 101 artworks.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

Vunimaqo and me : mango tree collections / Kamali, Daren
“This collection centres on a mango tree – Vunimaqo – that was the focal point of his youth. Vunimaqo stands by the Tubou Street Barracks, Samabula North, Suva, Fiji … at the intersection of a community’s life, overseeing and sharing the stories of its people … A collection of poems, coupled with images that deepen the words, channelling the many voices and the stories of those who found connections and shelter by the mango tree” ( adapted from Catalogue)

 

Squid out of water : the evolution / Kamali, Daren
“Honoring the Pacific Ocean and its many cultures and stories, Squid Out of Water is the second poetry collection of Daren Kamali, a poet, artist, and teacher of Fijian and Wallis and Futuna descent.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

Niu voices
“Niu Voices: Contemporary Pacific Fiction 1 is a collection of poetry, short stories and novel extracts by selected Pacific writers, edited by Dr. Selina Tusitala Marsh, lecturer in English at the University of Auckland. Niu, the life-giving coconut of Pacific nations, has become symbolic of many styles that are growing in Aotearoa New Zealand, but rooted in island soils. These Pacific influences flavour creativity and strengthen the fibre of Pacific cultures and customs as lived in this new/niu context. They tell stories of New Zealand homes, of love, relationships and identity.” (Adapted from Catalogue)