Best New Zealand Poems series
Encyclopedia
The Best New Zealand Poems series, begun in 2001
is an annual online selection of poems chosen by guest editors. The program is run by the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington
in New Zealand
.
The series, which is "shamelessly modelled" on The Best American Poetry series, takes one poem each from 25 New Zealand poets, the first annual editor, Iain Sharp
, wrote in his introduction to the 2001 selection. The poems must have been published that year either in magazines or books. A new editor selects the poems each year.
"A steady association with the country is sufficient" to be considered a "New Zealander", Sharp wrote.
Bill Manhire
, head of the International Institute of Modern Letters, is the series editor and writes a "Welcome" section to each annual collection of poems in the series. Sharp wrote in his introduction that he discussed the nature of the series with Manhire. In his introduction to the 2005 selection, Andrew Johnston wrote, "I couldn’t include a poem from Manhire’s latest and best book, Lifted, because he is effectively the publisher of Best New Zealand Poems."
"We feel that this publication is a real case where the internet has made possible an initiative which — in New Zealand — would simply not be viable in terms of conventional book publishing," Manhire said in early 2007. "Most of all, it breaks through the distribution barrier which prevents New Zealand poetry from reaching an international audience." Most visitors to the Web site come from overseas.
Unlike Best American Poetry, each year's selection is identified by the year in which the poems were first published, not by the year in which the selection is put out: so the 2001 list, for instance, came out in 2002.
The features on the series webb site, including links to publishers, New Zealand literary sites, poet biographies, and poets' comments on their work — provides a "'more bang for your verse' approach" that Shelley Howells, a columnist for the New Zealand Herald, called "more satisfying than simply reading a poem on a page".
2001
The editor, Iain Sharp
, is books editor of the Sunday Star-Times and himself a poet and critic. In his introduction, Sharp wrote that although he has a preference for poets like Billy Collins
, he tried to include a variety of poets in his selection. Sharp also wrote that he found it impossible to properly excerpt Michael O'Leary's book-length love poem, He Waiatanui Kia Aroha, or take a single poem out of Hone Tuwhare's
Piggyback Moon because none "seemed quite to capture the warm, rebellious spirit of the whole."
2002
This year's editor, Elizabeth Smither
, recalled what Allen Curnow, a New Zealand poet who died in 2001, said about "the visceral nature of true poetry. ‘Try poking it with a stick and see if it’s alive,’ was Allen’s test for a poem and it has been my first line of selection." Smither also used her assumptive "editor's privilege" to wedge in a 26th poem at the end of her introduction: Jon Bridges' "Poem for the Beasts".
2003
This year's editor, Robin Dudding, citing a similar comment by John Ashbery
in The Best American Poetry 1988
, discounted the idea that the best 25 poems of a country can be picked, since any editor will be inevitably biased and won't be able to find all the best poems. It might be better to call the selection "OK New Zealand poems", Dudding indicated.
"There seem to be two possible selection approaches: attempt to find worthy examples of as wide a range of poetic expression as possible; or plump for the poems that you like best, even if there is the risk of too markedly revealing one’s own taste or lack of taste," Dudding wrote. He and his wife, who helped with the selection, "plumped fairly firmly for the latter course."
2004
Emma Neale, this year's editor, in her introduction proclaimed Ahmed Zaoui's
"In a Dream" (translated in a "chain of versions" in brief 31, Spring 2004), "if not the best, then the most important poem this year", because of the political issues involved in Zaoui's circumstances (or as Neale put it, for "its role as a nexus of politics and aesthetics"): He sought refugee status in New Zealand and had been imprisoned for two years, as of the time Neale wrote, on suspicion of ties to terrorists. She added that he hadn't been brought to trial "in accordance with United Nations human rights conventions." Although Auden said "Poetry makes nothing happen," Neale said a poem can lend support to a political cause powered by other means.
"When I read a fine poem," Neale wrote, "there is usually a sense of actively arriving at layers of new knowledge, of discovering experience, or even belief, simultaneously with the speaker or personality in that poem. All of the poems I’ve chosen exhibit something of this character."
2005
In his introduction, Andrew Johnston (this year's editor) wrote that New Zealand poetry used to be very much like British poetry still is today, which he described as "domesticated", "unsurprising", "well-behaved" and closely following "a single register, the poet getting quietly worked up about something in the plainest conversational tone."
The influence of American poetry loosened up New Zealand's poets, according to Johnston, so that the nation's poetry today has a variety of voices and styles, and there is also a tolerance in the country for different kinds of poetry. Bill Manhire and Ian Wedde were two of the poets who helped bring about the revolution, he added.
2006
The editors for 2006 were literary couple Anne Kennedy
and Robert Sulivan
, both of whom were listed in the previous year's selection. The editors commented that 2006 seemed to have produced proportionally far fewer poems by Maori and Asian writers than appeared in other years. They speculated that such writers were either not seeking publication, or not achieving it. They noted that "So much in writing, from our experience, depends upon the encouragement of publishers, editors and educators."http://www.nzetc.org/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP06/t1-front-d2.html
"In selecting this year’s Best New Zealand Poems we did our best" the editors said, "to scout the diverse ethnic and intellectual communities that New Zealand poets belong to." http://www.nzetc.org/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP06/t1-front-d2.html. Despite the editorial emphasis on diversity, 11 of the 25 poems selected were published in association with Victoria University
. Of the remaining 14 poems, 8 were published in association with the University of Auckland
; leaving just five poems that were not released under the aegis of either University. http://www.nzetc.org/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP06/t1-back-d1.html
The fact that both poets reside in Honolulu, and had to rely in part on "the help of the Institute of Modern Letters team who sent us care packages from home" may account for this curious distribution. However, the editors themselves emphasise the broad range of poetry they scoured to create this list. "As well as reading books by individual poets, we read poems from anthologies, magazines, arts journals, e-journals and other websites." http://www.nzetc.org/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP06/t1-front-d2.html.
2007
The year's guest editor is Paula Green, who wrote that Chris Price's poem, "Harriet and the Matches" was the "scorchingly best" poem, which she reprinted in her introduction, although Price's work was not on the list of 25 selections. In her introduction, Green gave a list of "a simultaneous cluster of best poems" by these poets: Saradha Koirala Erin Scudder, Harry Rickett, Ashleigh Young, Helen Rickerby, Tusiata Avia
, Sue Wootton, Marty Smith, S. K. Johnson, Kay McKenzie Cooke, David Howard, Jennifer Compton
, Wystan Curnow, Richard von Sturmer, Sue Reidy, Charlotte Simmons, Rae Varcoe, Fiona Kidman
, Jack Ross, Airini Beautrais, Amy Brown, Katherine Liddy, Thérèse Lloyd, and Scott Kendrick. As had Kennedy and Sullivan in the previous year's introduction, Green complained that there weren't more Maori and Asian poems published during the year. But there were plenty of submissions overall, she wrote, "At one point in January the stack of best poems on my floor stood at 20 cms."
2008
2008's guest editor was James Brown.
2009
2009's guest editor was Robyn Marsack.
2010
2010's guest editor was Chris Price.
2001 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Immediately after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, W. H...
is an annual online selection of poems chosen by guest editors. The program is run by the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The series, which is "shamelessly modelled" on The Best American Poetry series, takes one poem each from 25 New Zealand poets, the first annual editor, Iain Sharp
Iain Sharp
Iain Sharp, born in 1953, is a New Zealand poet and critic.-Biography:Born in Glasgow in 1953, Sharp emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1961, where they settled in Auckland. He studied at Victoria University of Wellington and received a doctorate in English at the University of Auckland in...
, wrote in his introduction to the 2001 selection. The poems must have been published that year either in magazines or books. A new editor selects the poems each year.
"A steady association with the country is sufficient" to be considered a "New Zealander", Sharp wrote.
Bill Manhire
Bill Manhire
William "Bill" Manhire, CNZM is an award-winning New Zealand poet, short story writer, and professor, New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate.-Biography:...
, head of the International Institute of Modern Letters, is the series editor and writes a "Welcome" section to each annual collection of poems in the series. Sharp wrote in his introduction that he discussed the nature of the series with Manhire. In his introduction to the 2005 selection, Andrew Johnston wrote, "I couldn’t include a poem from Manhire’s latest and best book, Lifted, because he is effectively the publisher of Best New Zealand Poems."
"We feel that this publication is a real case where the internet has made possible an initiative which — in New Zealand — would simply not be viable in terms of conventional book publishing," Manhire said in early 2007. "Most of all, it breaks through the distribution barrier which prevents New Zealand poetry from reaching an international audience." Most visitors to the Web site come from overseas.
Unlike Best American Poetry, each year's selection is identified by the year in which the poems were first published, not by the year in which the selection is put out: so the 2001 list, for instance, came out in 2002.
Assessments
The New Zealand Book Council has called the online series "a superb entry point for readers unfamiliar with the work of particular writers, and a treasure chest of information for students of New Zealand literature".The features on the series webb site, including links to publishers, New Zealand literary sites, poet biographies, and poets' comments on their work — provides a "'more bang for your verse' approach" that Shelley Howells, a columnist for the New Zealand Herald, called "more satisfying than simply reading a poem on a page".
20012001 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Immediately after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, W. H...
The editor, Iain SharpIain Sharp
Iain Sharp, born in 1953, is a New Zealand poet and critic.-Biography:Born in Glasgow in 1953, Sharp emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1961, where they settled in Auckland. He studied at Victoria University of Wellington and received a doctorate in English at the University of Auckland in...
, is books editor of the Sunday Star-Times and himself a poet and critic. In his introduction, Sharp wrote that although he has a preference for poets like Billy Collins
Billy Collins
Billy Collins is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York and is the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute, Florida...
, he tried to include a variety of poets in his selection. Sharp also wrote that he found it impossible to properly excerpt Michael O'Leary's book-length love poem, He Waiatanui Kia Aroha, or take a single poem out of Hone Tuwhare's
Hone Tuwhare
Hone Tuwhare was a noted New Zealand poet of Māori ancestry. He is closely associated with The Catlins in the Otago region of New Zealand, where he lived for the latter part of his life.-Early years:...
Piggyback Moon because none "seemed quite to capture the warm, rebellious spirit of the whole."
- James K. BaxterJames K. BaxterJames Keir Baxter was a poet, and is a celebrated figure in New Zealand society.-Biography:Baxter was born in Dunedin to Archibald Baxter and Millicent Brown and grew up near Brighton. He was named after James Keir Hardie, a founder of the British Labour Party. His father had been a conscientious...
- Jenny BornholdtJenny BornholdtJennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
- Bernard Brown
- James Brown
- Alan Brunton
- Kate Camp
- Alistair Te Ariki Campbell
- Allen CurnowAllen CurnowThomas Allen Munro Curnow ONZ CBE was a New Zealand poet and journalist. Curnow was born in Timaru and educated at Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury University, and Auckland University...
- Leigh DavisLeigh Robert DavisLeigh Robert Davis was a New Zealand-based writer who created long poems and large-scale, mixed-media projects in which he worked with painters, designers and composers. He was known for the highly experimental nature of his creative work.-Life:Davis was born in Raetihi, completed an M.A...
- Chloe Gordon
- Bernadette HallBernadette HallBernadette Hall is a New Zealand writer and poet. She was raised in what she describes as a small-city Catholic community that was proud, theatrical and pretty much enclosed. After a career as a teacher of Latin and classical studies she started writing full time in her 40s...
- Dinah Hawken
- Anna Jackson
- Jan KempJan KempJan Kemp was an American academic and English tutor who exposed the bias in passing college football players and filed a lawsuit against the University of Georgia....
- James Naughton
- Gregory O'BrienGregory O'BrienGregory O’Brien , is a New Zealand poet, painter and editor.-Life:He trained as a journalist in Auckland and worked as a newspaper reporter in Northland...
- Peter Olds
- Bob Orr
- Vincent O'SullivanVincent O'SullivanVincent O'Sullivan was an American-born short story writer, poet and critic. Born in New York City to Eugene and Christine O'Sullivan, he began his education in the New York public school system and completed it in Britain. His works dealt with the morbid and decadent...
- Chris Price
- Richard Reeve
- Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
- Brian TurnerBrian Turner (New Zealand poet)Brian Turner is a New Zealand poet and author. He played hockey for New Zealand in the 1960s; senior cricket in Dunedin and Wellington; and was a veteran road cyclist of note...
- Ian WeddeIan WeddeIan Curtis Wedde ONZM is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer, critic, and art curator.-Biography:Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Wedde lived in East Pakistan and England as a child before returning to New Zealand. He attended King's College and University of Auckland, graduating with an MA in...
- Nick Williamson
20022002 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* After Ghazi al-Gosaibi, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Britain, publishes a poem praising a suicide bomber who had killed himself and two Israelis after blowing himself up in a supermarket; the...
This year's editor, Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither
Elizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
, recalled what Allen Curnow, a New Zealand poet who died in 2001, said about "the visceral nature of true poetry. ‘Try poking it with a stick and see if it’s alive,’ was Allen’s test for a poem and it has been my first line of selection." Smither also used her assumptive "editor's privilege" to wedge in a 26th poem at the end of her introduction: Jon Bridges' "Poem for the Beasts".
- Jenny BornholdtJenny BornholdtJennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
- Diana Bridge
- Rachel Bush
- Kate Camp
- Glenn ColquhounGlenn ColquhounDr. Glenn Colquhoun, born in Papakura, Auckland in 1964, is a New Zealand poet and general practitioner.-Life:He practices medicine on the Kapiti Coast. He lives in Waikawa Beach with his young daughter Olive....
- Murray Edmond
- Paula Green
- Michael Harlow
- David Howard
- Andrew Johnston
- Anne KennedyAnne KennedyAnne Kennedy is a New Zealand poet, writer, and filmwriter.-Life:She was educated in Wellington, she has been a piano teacher and music librarian and since 1986, a freelance scriptwriter. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Victoria University of Wellington...
- Michele LeggottMichele LeggottMichele Joy Leggott MNZM is a New Zealand poet, and Associate Professor of English at the University of Auckland. She was born in Stratford, New Zealand, and received her secondary education at New Plymouth Girls High School, before attending the University of Canterbury where she completed an MA...
- Emma Neale
- Bob Orr
- Chris Orsman
- Vincent O'Sullivan
- Bill Sewell
- Anna Smaill
- Kendrick SmithymanKendrick SmithymanWilliam Kendrick Smithyman was an award-winning New Zealand poet and one of the most prolific of that nation's poets in the 20th century.-Family and early life:...
- C.K. Stead
- Robert SullivanRobert Sullivan (New Zealand poet)Robert Sullivan is an important Māori writer from Aotearoa/New Zealand.-Biography & Writing:Robert Sullivan is of Māori and Irish descent. He belongs to the Māori tribes Ngā Puhi as well as to Kāi Tahu and describes himself as multicultural...
- Jo Thorpe
- Rae Varcoe
- Louise Wrightson
- Sonja Yelich
20032003 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry was opened at Queens University, Belfast, this year. It houses the Heaney Media Archive, a unique record of Heaney's entire oeuvre, as well as a full catalogue of...
This year's editor, Robin Dudding, citing a similar comment by John AshberyJohn Ashbery
John Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...
in The Best American Poetry 1988
The Best American Poetry 1988
The Best American Poetry 1988, the first volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor John Ashbery, who chose one of his own poems among the group of 75.-Lehman's forward:...
, discounted the idea that the best 25 poems of a country can be picked, since any editor will be inevitably biased and won't be able to find all the best poems. It might be better to call the selection "OK New Zealand poems", Dudding indicated.
"There seem to be two possible selection approaches: attempt to find worthy examples of as wide a range of poetic expression as possible; or plump for the poems that you like best, even if there is the risk of too markedly revealing one’s own taste or lack of taste," Dudding wrote. He and his wife, who helped with the selection, "plumped fairly firmly for the latter course."
- David Beach
- Peter BlandPeter BlandPeter Bland is a British-New Zealand poet and actor.-Life:He emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 20 and graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington....
- Jenny BornholdtJenny BornholdtJennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
- Kate Camp
- Gordon Challis
- Geoff Cochrane
- Fiona FarrellFiona FarrellFiona Farrell is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer and playwright. Her latest novel, Limestone, was published in April 2009. The Broken Book, was published by Auckland University Press 2011 .-Bibliography:...
- Cliff Fell
- Sia FigielSia FigielSia Figiel is a contemporary Samoan novelist, poet, and painter.Sia Figiel grew up amidst the traditional Samoan singing and poetry which heavily influenced her writing. Her formal schooling was conducted in Samoa and New Zealand where she also began a BA which was completed at Whitworth College...
- Rhian Gallagher
- Robin HydeRobin HydeRobin Hyde is one of New Zealand's major poets. She was born Iris Guiver Wilkinson in Cape Town, South Africa and taken to Wellington, New Zealand before her first birthday. She had her secondary education at Wellington Girls' College where she wrote poetry and short stories for the school...
- Kevin IrelandKevin IrelandKevin Mark Ireland is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, novelist and librettist.-Life:He lived in England in 1959 for twenty-five years...
- Anna Jackson
- Anne KennedyAnne KennedyAnne Kennedy is a New Zealand poet, writer, and filmwriter.-Life:She was educated in Wellington, she has been a piano teacher and music librarian and since 1986, a freelance scriptwriter. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Victoria University of Wellington...
- Graham Lindsay
- Anna Livesey
- Karlo MilaKarlo MilaKarlo Mila is a New Zealand poet. She is of Tongan, Palangi and Samoan heritage, and educated at Massey University in Palmerston North. Her first award was the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry at the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, for Dream Fish Floating...
- James Norcliffe
- Gregory O'BrienGregory O'BrienGregory O’Brien , is a New Zealand poet, painter and editor.-Life:He trained as a journalist in Auckland and worked as a newspaper reporter in Northland...
- Bob Orr
- Chris Price
- Sarah Quigley
- Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
- Brian TurnerBrian Turner (New Zealand poet)Brian Turner is a New Zealand poet and author. He played hockey for New Zealand in the 1960s; senior cricket in Dunedin and Wellington; and was a veteran road cyclist of note...
- Richard von Sturmer
20042004 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* April 1 — Foetry.com Web site is launched for the announced purpose of "Exposing fraudulent contests. Tracking the sycophants...
Emma Neale, this year's editor, in her introduction proclaimed Ahmed Zaoui'sAhmed Zaoui
Ahmed Zaoui is an Algerian member of the Islamic Salvation Front. He arrived in New Zealand on 4 December 2002 where he sought refugee status. Objections from the Security Intelligence Service were withdrawn in September 2007, allowing him to remain in New Zealand.-Pre 1991:Ahmed Zaoui was born as...
"In a Dream" (translated in a "chain of versions" in brief 31, Spring 2004), "if not the best, then the most important poem this year", because of the political issues involved in Zaoui's circumstances (or as Neale put it, for "its role as a nexus of politics and aesthetics"): He sought refugee status in New Zealand and had been imprisoned for two years, as of the time Neale wrote, on suspicion of ties to terrorists. She added that he hadn't been brought to trial "in accordance with United Nations human rights conventions." Although Auden said "Poetry makes nothing happen," Neale said a poem can lend support to a political cause powered by other means.
"When I read a fine poem," Neale wrote, "there is usually a sense of actively arriving at layers of new knowledge, of discovering experience, or even belief, simultaneously with the speaker or personality in that poem. All of the poems I’ve chosen exhibit something of this character."
- Tusiata AviaTusiata AviaTusiata Avia is a New Zealand page and performance poet born to a Samoan father and Palagi mother. Her poetry explores Pacifica and cross-cultural themes, as well as the borders between traditional and contemporary life, and between place and the self.She has toured both nationally and...
- Hinemoana BakerHinemoana BakerHinemoana Baker is a writer, musician, producer, editor, and teacher of creative writing. Her first book of poetry, Matuhi Needle, was published in New Zealand and the United States in 2004, and her new collection was released in July 2010. In the same year, she was an International Writing Program...
- Diane Brown
- James Brown
- Geoff Cochrane
- Linda Connell
- Wystan Curnow
- Anne FrenchAnne French-Life:She graduated from Wellington Girls' College and Victoria University of Wellington with an MA. She is an editor with Oxford University Press, and became New Zealand managing editor in 1982.-Awards:* 1973 and 1974 PEN Young Writer’s Incentive Award...
- Paula Green
- David Howard
- Andrew Johnston
- Tim Jones
- Anne KennedyAnne KennedyAnne Kennedy is a New Zealand poet, writer, and filmwriter.-Life:She was educated in Wellington, she has been a piano teacher and music librarian and since 1986, a freelance scriptwriter. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Victoria University of Wellington...
- Tze Ming MokTze Ming MokTze Ming Mok , born 1978) is a fiction writer and sociopolitical commentator, and has been a prominent New Zealand Asian community advocate...
- Peter Olds
- Vincent O'Sullivan
- Vivienne Plumb
- Richard Reeve
- Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
- Kendrick SmithymanKendrick SmithymanWilliam Kendrick Smithyman was an award-winning New Zealand poet and one of the most prolific of that nation's poets in the 20th century.-Family and early life:...
- C.K. Stead
- Brian TurnerBrian Turner (New Zealand poet)Brian Turner is a New Zealand poet and author. He played hockey for New Zealand in the 1960s; senior cricket in Dunedin and Wellington; and was a veteran road cyclist of note...
- Sue Wootton
- Sonja Yelich
- Ashleigh Young
20052005 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* October 7 — Celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the first reading of Allen Ginsberg's poem Howl were staged in San Francisco, New York City, and in Leeds in the UK...
In his introduction, Andrew Johnston (this year's editor) wrote that New Zealand poetry used to be very much like British poetry still is today, which he described as "domesticated", "unsurprising", "well-behaved" and closely following "a single register, the poet getting quietly worked up about something in the plainest conversational tone."The influence of American poetry loosened up New Zealand's poets, according to Johnston, so that the nation's poetry today has a variety of voices and styles, and there is also a tolerance in the country for different kinds of poetry. Bill Manhire and Ian Wedde were two of the poets who helped bring about the revolution, he added.
- Michele Amas
- Angela Andrews
- Stu Bagby
- Jenny BornholdtJenny BornholdtJennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
- James Brown
- Janet Charman
- Geoff Cochrane
- Mary Cresswell
- Wystan Curnow
- Stephanie de Montalk
- Fiona FarrellFiona FarrellFiona Farrell is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer and playwright. Her latest novel, Limestone, was published in April 2009. The Broken Book, was published by Auckland University Press 2011 .-Bibliography:...
- Bernadette HallBernadette HallBernadette Hall is a New Zealand writer and poet. She was raised in what she describes as a small-city Catholic community that was proud, theatrical and pretty much enclosed. After a career as a teacher of Latin and classical studies she started writing full time in her 40s...
- Anne KennedyAnne KennedyAnne Kennedy is a New Zealand poet, writer, and filmwriter.-Life:She was educated in Wellington, she has been a piano teacher and music librarian and since 1986, a freelance scriptwriter. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Victoria University of Wellington...
- Michele LeggottMichele LeggottMichele Joy Leggott MNZM is a New Zealand poet, and Associate Professor of English at the University of Auckland. She was born in Stratford, New Zealand, and received her secondary education at New Plymouth Girls High School, before attending the University of Canterbury where she completed an MA...
- Anna Livesey
- Karlo MilaKarlo MilaKarlo Mila is a New Zealand poet. She is of Tongan, Palangi and Samoan heritage, and educated at Massey University in Palmerston North. Her first award was the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry at the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, for Dream Fish Floating...
- James Norcliffe
- Gregory O'BrienGregory O'BrienGregory O’Brien , is a New Zealand poet, painter and editor.-Life:He trained as a journalist in Auckland and worked as a newspaper reporter in Northland...
- Vivienne Plumb
- Anna Smaill
- Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
- Robert SullivanRobert Sullivan (New Zealand poet)Robert Sullivan is an important Māori writer from Aotearoa/New Zealand.-Biography & Writing:Robert Sullivan is of Māori and Irish descent. He belongs to the Māori tribes Ngā Puhi as well as to Kāi Tahu and describes himself as multicultural...
- Brian TurnerBrian Turner (New Zealand poet)Brian Turner is a New Zealand poet and author. He played hockey for New Zealand in the 1960s; senior cricket in Dunedin and Wellington; and was a veteran road cyclist of note...
- Ian WeddeIan WeddeIan Curtis Wedde ONZM is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer, critic, and art curator.-Biography:Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Wedde lived in East Pakistan and England as a child before returning to New Zealand. He attended King's College and University of Auckland, graduating with an MA in...
- Sonja Yelich
20062006 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* French public notary Patrick Huet unveils Pieces of Hope to the Echo of the World in Lyon...
The editors for 2006 were literary couple Anne KennedyAnne Kennedy
Anne Kennedy is a New Zealand poet, writer, and filmwriter.-Life:She was educated in Wellington, she has been a piano teacher and music librarian and since 1986, a freelance scriptwriter. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Victoria University of Wellington...
and Robert Sulivan
Robert Sullivan (New Zealand poet)
Robert Sullivan is an important Māori writer from Aotearoa/New Zealand.-Biography & Writing:Robert Sullivan is of Māori and Irish descent. He belongs to the Māori tribes Ngā Puhi as well as to Kāi Tahu and describes himself as multicultural...
, both of whom were listed in the previous year's selection. The editors commented that 2006 seemed to have produced proportionally far fewer poems by Maori and Asian writers than appeared in other years. They speculated that such writers were either not seeking publication, or not achieving it. They noted that "So much in writing, from our experience, depends upon the encouragement of publishers, editors and educators."http://www.nzetc.org/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP06/t1-front-d2.html
"In selecting this year’s Best New Zealand Poems we did our best" the editors said, "to scout the diverse ethnic and intellectual communities that New Zealand poets belong to." http://www.nzetc.org/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP06/t1-front-d2.html. Despite the editorial emphasis on diversity, 11 of the 25 poems selected were published in association with Victoria University
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
. Of the remaining 14 poems, 8 were published in association with the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
; leaving just five poems that were not released under the aegis of either University. http://www.nzetc.org/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP06/t1-back-d1.html
The fact that both poets reside in Honolulu, and had to rely in part on "the help of the Institute of Modern Letters team who sent us care packages from home" may account for this curious distribution. However, the editors themselves emphasise the broad range of poetry they scoured to create this list. "As well as reading books by individual poets, we read poems from anthologies, magazines, arts journals, e-journals and other websites." http://www.nzetc.org/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP06/t1-front-d2.html.
- Hinemoana BakerHinemoana BakerHinemoana Baker is a writer, musician, producer, editor, and teacher of creative writing. Her first book of poetry, Matuhi Needle, was published in New Zealand and the United States in 2004, and her new collection was released in July 2010. In the same year, she was an International Writing Program...
- Cherie Barford
- Jenny BornholdtJenny BornholdtJennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
- James Brown
- Alistair Te Ariki Campbell
- Geoff Cochrane
- Murray Edmond
- David Eggleton
- Cliff Fell
- Brian Flaherty
- Paula Green
- Bernadette HallBernadette HallBernadette Hall is a New Zealand writer and poet. She was raised in what she describes as a small-city Catholic community that was proud, theatrical and pretty much enclosed. After a career as a teacher of Latin and classical studies she started writing full time in her 40s...
- Anna Jackson
- Andrew JohnstonAndrew Johnston (poet)Andrew Johnston is an award-winning New Zealand poet and journalist who works as an editor for the International Herald Tribune in Paris....
- Michele LeggottMichele LeggottMichele Joy Leggott MNZM is a New Zealand poet, and Associate Professor of English at the University of Auckland. She was born in Stratford, New Zealand, and received her secondary education at New Plymouth Girls High School, before attending the University of Canterbury where she completed an MA...
- Selina Tusitala Marsh
- Karlo MilaKarlo MilaKarlo Mila is a New Zealand poet. She is of Tongan, Palangi and Samoan heritage, and educated at Massey University in Palmerston North. Her first award was the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry at the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, for Dream Fish Floating...
- Gregory O'BrienGregory O'BrienGregory O’Brien , is a New Zealand poet, painter and editor.-Life:He trained as a journalist in Auckland and worked as a newspaper reporter in Northland...
- Brian Potiki
- Chris Price
- Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
- C.K. Stead
- JC Sturm
- Richard von Sturmer
- Alison WongAlison WongAlison Wong is a New Zealand poet of Chinese heritage. Her background in mathematics comes across in her poetry, not as a subject, but in the careful formulation of words to white space and precision...
20072007 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* March 5: a car bomb was exploded on Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. More than 30 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded. This locale is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, a winding...
The year's guest editor is Paula Green, who wrote that Chris Price's poem, "Harriet and the Matches" was the "scorchingly best" poem, which she reprinted in her introduction, although Price's work was not on the list of 25 selections. In her introduction, Green gave a list of "a simultaneous cluster of best poems" by these poets: Saradha Koirala Erin Scudder, Harry Rickett, Ashleigh Young, Helen Rickerby, Tusiata AviaTusiata Avia
Tusiata Avia is a New Zealand page and performance poet born to a Samoan father and Palagi mother. Her poetry explores Pacifica and cross-cultural themes, as well as the borders between traditional and contemporary life, and between place and the self.She has toured both nationally and...
, Sue Wootton, Marty Smith, S. K. Johnson, Kay McKenzie Cooke, David Howard, Jennifer Compton
Jennifer Compton
Jennifer Compton was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1949. In the early '70s she emigrated to Sydney, Australia with her husband Matthew O'Sullivan. They now live outside Melbourne, Australia....
, Wystan Curnow, Richard von Sturmer, Sue Reidy, Charlotte Simmons, Rae Varcoe, Fiona Kidman
Fiona Kidman
Dame Fiona Judith Kidman, DNZM, OBE , is a New Zealand novelist, poet, scriptwriter and short story author....
, Jack Ross, Airini Beautrais, Amy Brown, Katherine Liddy, Thérèse Lloyd, and Scott Kendrick. As had Kennedy and Sullivan in the previous year's introduction, Green complained that there weren't more Maori and Asian poems published during the year. But there were plenty of submissions overall, she wrote, "At one point in January the stack of best poems on my floor stood at 20 cms."
- Johanna Aitchison
- Angela Andrews
- Serie (Cherie) Barford
- Sarah Jane Barnett
- Jenny BornholdtJenny BornholdtJennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
- Alistair Te Ariki Campbell
- Janet Charman
- Geoff Cochrane
- Fiona FarrellFiona FarrellFiona Farrell is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer and playwright. Her latest novel, Limestone, was published in April 2009. The Broken Book, was published by Auckland University Press 2011 .-Bibliography:...
- Cliff Fell
- Bernadette HallBernadette HallBernadette Hall is a New Zealand writer and poet. She was raised in what she describes as a small-city Catholic community that was proud, theatrical and pretty much enclosed. After a career as a teacher of Latin and classical studies she started writing full time in her 40s...
- Anna Jackson
- Andrew JohnstonAndrew Johnston (poet)Andrew Johnston is an award-winning New Zealand poet and journalist who works as an editor for the International Herald Tribune in Paris....
- Anne KennedyAnne KennedyAnne Kennedy is a New Zealand poet, writer, and filmwriter.-Life:She was educated in Wellington, she has been a piano teacher and music librarian and since 1986, a freelance scriptwriter. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Victoria University of Wellington...
- Jessica Le Bas
- Dora MalechDora MalechDora Malech is an American poet.Malech’s first full-length collection of poetry, Shore Ordered Ocean, was published in 2009 by the Waywiser Press. The Cleveland State University Poetry Center published her second collection, Say So, in 2010....
- Alice Miller
- Emma Neale
- Vincent O’Sullivan
- Vivienne Plumb
- Richard Reeve
- Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
- C. K. SteadC. K. SteadChristian Karlson Stead, ONZ, CBE is a New Zealand writer whose works include novels, poetry, short stories, and literary criticism....
- Robert SullivanRobert Sullivan (New Zealand poet)Robert Sullivan is an important Māori writer from Aotearoa/New Zealand.-Biography & Writing:Robert Sullivan is of Māori and Irish descent. He belongs to the Māori tribes Ngā Puhi as well as to Kāi Tahu and describes himself as multicultural...
- Alison WongAlison WongAlison Wong is a New Zealand poet of Chinese heritage. Her background in mathematics comes across in her poetry, not as a subject, but in the careful formulation of words to white space and precision...
20082008 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* June — the release in the United Kingdom of a new film, The Edge of Love, Dylan Thomas' relationship with two women, starring Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys *...
2008's guest editor was James Brown.- Johanna Aitchison
- Hinemoana BakerHinemoana BakerHinemoana Baker is a writer, musician, producer, editor, and teacher of creative writing. Her first book of poetry, Matuhi Needle, was published in New Zealand and the United States in 2004, and her new collection was released in July 2010. In the same year, she was an International Writing Program...
- Emma Barnes
- David Beach
- Peter BlandPeter BlandPeter Bland is a British-New Zealand poet and actor.-Life:He emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 20 and graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington....
- Jenny BornholdtJenny BornholdtJennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
- Amy Brown
- Cliff Fell
- Joan Fleming (poet)Joan Fleming
- Bernadette HallBernadette HallBernadette Hall is a New Zealand writer and poet. She was raised in what she describes as a small-city Catholic community that was proud, theatrical and pretty much enclosed. After a career as a teacher of Latin and classical studies she started writing full time in her 40s...
- Sam Hunt
- Lynn Jenner
- Michele LeggottMichele LeggottMichele Joy Leggott MNZM is a New Zealand poet, and Associate Professor of English at the University of Auckland. She was born in Stratford, New Zealand, and received her secondary education at New Plymouth Girls High School, before attending the University of Canterbury where she completed an MA...
- Jean McCormack
- Emma Neale
- Gregory O’Brien
- Bob Orr
- Chris Orsman
- Richard Reeve
- Sam Sampson
- Kerrin P. Sharpe
- Tim Upperton
- Richard von Sturmer
- Tom Weston
- Sonja Yelich
20092009 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* January 5 – The Turkish government announces it will posthumously restore the citizenship it had stripped from influential poet Nazim Hikmet, a Marxist who died in 1963 as an exile in the Soviet...
2009's guest editor was Robyn Marsack.- Tusiata AviaTusiata AviaTusiata Avia is a New Zealand page and performance poet born to a Samoan father and Palagi mother. Her poetry explores Pacifica and cross-cultural themes, as well as the borders between traditional and contemporary life, and between place and the self.She has toured both nationally and...
- Sarah Broom
- Geoff Cochrane
- Jennifer ComptonJennifer ComptonJennifer Compton was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1949. In the early '70s she emigrated to Sydney, Australia with her husband Matthew O'Sullivan. They now live outside Melbourne, Australia....
- Lynn Davidson
- John Gallas
- Bernadette HallBernadette HallBernadette Hall is a New Zealand writer and poet. She was raised in what she describes as a small-city Catholic community that was proud, theatrical and pretty much enclosed. After a career as a teacher of Latin and classical studies she started writing full time in her 40s...
- David Howard
- Lynn Jenner
- Brent Kininmont
- Michele LeggottMichele LeggottMichele Joy Leggott MNZM is a New Zealand poet, and Associate Professor of English at the University of Auckland. She was born in Stratford, New Zealand, and received her secondary education at New Plymouth Girls High School, before attending the University of Canterbury where she completed an MA...
- Emma Neale
- James Norcliffe
- Gregory O’Brien
- Chris Price
- Kerrin P. Sharpe
- Marty Smith
- Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
- C.K. Stead
- Brian TurnerBrian Turner (New Zealand poet)Brian Turner is a New Zealand poet and author. He played hockey for New Zealand in the 1960s; senior cricket in Dunedin and Wellington; and was a veteran road cyclist of note...
- Tim Upperton
- Louise Wallace
- Ian WeddeIan WeddeIan Curtis Wedde ONZM is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer, critic, and art curator.-Biography:Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Wedde lived in East Pakistan and England as a child before returning to New Zealand. He attended King's College and University of Auckland, graduating with an MA in...
- Douglas WrightDouglas Wright (New Zealand dancer)Douglas Wright is an openly gay dancer and choreographer in the New Zealand arts establishment from 1980 until his retirement from dance in 2008 on the occasion of the publication of his first book of poetry, Laughing Mirror ....
- Ashleigh Young
20102010 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* January 19 - For the first time since 1949, an anonymous black-clad man, known as the Poe Toaster, failed to show up at the tomb of Edgar Allan Poe at the Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, early...
2010's guest editor was Chris Price.- Fleur AdcockFleur AdcockKareen Fleur Adcock , CNZM, OBE is a poet and an editor of English and Northern Irish ancestry, who has lived much of her life in England.-Life and career:...
- Hinemoana BakerHinemoana BakerHinemoana Baker is a writer, musician, producer, editor, and teacher of creative writing. Her first book of poetry, Matuhi Needle, was published in New Zealand and the United States in 2004, and her new collection was released in July 2010. In the same year, she was an International Writing Program...
- Emma Barnes
- Sarah Jane Barnett
- Miro Bilbrough
- Jenny BornholdtJenny BornholdtJennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
- James Brown
- Kate Camp
- Geoff Cochrane
- Jennifer ComptonJennifer ComptonJennifer Compton was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1949. In the early '70s she emigrated to Sydney, Australia with her husband Matthew O'Sullivan. They now live outside Melbourne, Australia....
- David Eggleton
- Cliff Fell
- John Gallas
- Anna Jackson
- Lynn Jenner
- Anne KennedyAnne KennedyAnne Kennedy is a New Zealand poet, writer, and filmwriter.-Life:She was educated in Wellington, she has been a piano teacher and music librarian and since 1986, a freelance scriptwriter. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Victoria University of Wellington...
- Anna Livesey
- Cilla McQueenCilla McQueenCilla McQueen is a poet and three-time winner of the New Zealand Book Award for Poetry.-Early years and Education:McQueen's family moved to New Zealand when she was four....
- David Mitchell
- Bill Nelson
- John Newton
- Gregory O'BrienGregory O'BrienGregory O’Brien , is a New Zealand poet, painter and editor.-Life:He trained as a journalist in Auckland and worked as a newspaper reporter in Northland...
- Kerrin P Sharpe
- Elizabeth SmitherElizabeth SmitherElizabeth Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.She worked as a librarian.-Awards:* 2002 Te Mata Poet Laureate.* 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry* 2008 Prime Minister's Award for poetry....
- Ian WeddeIan WeddeIan Curtis Wedde ONZM is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer, critic, and art curator.-Biography:Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Wedde lived in East Pakistan and England as a child before returning to New Zealand. He attended King's College and University of Auckland, graduating with an MA in...