Meg Campbell
Encyclopedia
Meg Campbell was a female New Zealand
poet
. Campbell was born and raised in Palmerston North
, New Zealand
and attended Marsden Collegiate
, Wellington
where she studied acting. However, she discontinued her acting pursuits shortly after meeting and marrying fellow poet Alistair Campbell
.
previously. Throughout her lifetime Meg Campbell had struggled with depression; from bi-polar disorder to postpartum depression
of which she eventually suffered from a nervous breakdown.. In 1969 she began writing poetry at Porirua Psychiatric Hospital
. However, it wasn't until the late 1970's and 1980's that she began to publish her work. The topic of her long term experience with depression and mental institutions are expressed through a variety of her poetry.
. However, it wasn't until the 1980's that she began to publish books of poetry such as The Way Back (1981) which won the PEN Best First Book Award for poetry. Meg Campbell continued to publish books of poetry up until her death in 2007. Later a collection of poems from Alistair Campbell and Meg Campbell titled It's Love, Isn't It? would be published in 2008.
can agree with The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature that Campbell's voice is strong.
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...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. Campbell was born and raised in Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, 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...
and attended Marsden Collegiate
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School is located in the Wellington suburb of Karori in New Zealand. It has a socio-economic decile of 10 and provides private preschool to year 13 education for girls, but with co-educational kindergarten facilities...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
where she studied acting. However, she discontinued her acting pursuits shortly after meeting and marrying fellow poet Alistair Campbell
Alistair Campbell (poet)
Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, ONZM was a New Zealand poet, playwright, and novelist. His father was a New Zealand Scot and his mother a Cook Island Maori from Penrhyn Island.-Biography:...
.
Personal Life
Meg Campbell grew up in Palmerston North, New Zealand and studied acting in Wellington before meeting her husband Alistair Campbell in 1958, who was also married to another New Zealand poet Fleur AdcockFleur Adcock
Kareen 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:...
previously. Throughout her lifetime Meg Campbell had struggled with depression; from bi-polar disorder to postpartum depression
Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression , also called postnatal depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, typically after childbirth. Studies report prevalence rates among women from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual...
of which she eventually suffered from a nervous breakdown.. In 1969 she began writing poetry at Porirua Psychiatric Hospital
Porirua Lunatic Asylum
Porirua Lunatic Asylum was a psychiatric hospital located in Porirua. Established in 1887, it was at one time the largest hospital in New Zealand...
. However, it wasn't until the late 1970's and 1980's that she began to publish her work. The topic of her long term experience with depression and mental institutions are expressed through a variety of her poetry.
Work
Toward the end of her depression Meg Campbell published her first poem 'Solitary confinement' in 1978 in the New Zealand ListenerNew Zealand Listener
The New Zealand Listener is a New Zealand magazine. First published in 1939 and edited by Oliver Duff and the Monte Holcroft it originally had a monopoly on the publication of of upcoming television and radio programmes. In the 1980s it lost its monopoly on the publication of upcoming television...
. However, it wasn't until the 1980's that she began to publish books of poetry such as The Way Back (1981) which won the PEN Best First Book Award for poetry. Meg Campbell continued to publish books of poetry up until her death in 2007. Later a collection of poems from Alistair Campbell and Meg Campbell titled It's Love, Isn't It? would be published in 2008.
Style
Meg Campbell's poetry expresses her personal experiences and struggles often by wit and a sense of humor. It is also said that the role of mythology within her poetry speaks about gender roles and sexuality as well as domesticity. In The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, it states that Campbell's poetry "can form unexpected links, between the mythic and the domestic, for instance, as in 'Maui', or the universal and psychological, as in 'Things Random' or 'Evolution'. The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in EnglishThe Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English
The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English is a bio-bibliographical dictionary of women writers and women's writing in English published by Cambridge University Press in 1999 . It was edited by Lorna Sage, with Germaine Greer and Elaine Showalter as advisory editors, and contains over 2,500...
can agree with The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature that Campbell's voice is strong.
External links
See Also
- Alistair CampbellAlistair CampbellAlistair, Alastair or Alister Campbell, may refer to:* Alistair Campbell , Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford* Alistair Campbell , New Zealander...
- 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:...
- New Zealand ListenerNew Zealand ListenerThe New Zealand Listener is a New Zealand magazine. First published in 1939 and edited by Oliver Duff and the Monte Holcroft it originally had a monopoly on the publication of of upcoming television and radio programmes. In the 1980s it lost its monopoly on the publication of upcoming television...
- The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in EnglishThe Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in EnglishThe Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English is a bio-bibliographical dictionary of women writers and women's writing in English published by Cambridge University Press in 1999 . It was edited by Lorna Sage, with Germaine Greer and Elaine Showalter as advisory editors, and contains over 2,500...