Poetry > NZ Poetry

Gregory O'Brien's first collection of poems since Afternoon of an Evening Train (2005), Beauties of the Octagonal Pool is centred on the 'octagonal pool' of the Waitemata Harbour. In an eight-armed embrace, Beauties of the Octagonal Pool collects poems written from and out of a variety of times, locations and experiences, from the water-frontages of Fiji, Fiordland and the Mediterranean to the built history of Moscow and Berlin. Gregory O'Brien's poems here - his first collection for seven years - have a thoughtful musicality, a sh... read more

“ Yes, sleep treats her bad like a man in a country song and it never stays long ” — so says established poet Kate Camp in this, her third collection. It’s her best so far, and will both excite existing admirers and win new ones. Kate Camp is shortlisted for the 2006 Prize in Modern Letters (to be announced in March). First publishe... read more

'There was the wind too, that scoured bald hills for answers, finding only insects to shatter against our skin, our crib rocked in the night: the house built on sand. You held the weather in your eyes, dark and writhing when you turned them to the sky, watched clouds smoulder among the stars.'

Sam Hunt has always believed in the essential musicality of a good poem, a belief that has become more intense over the years.Part 1 of this book, ‘the Chords’ that give this collection its title, are a loosely connected group of poems that he feels are best described as a musical score. Stripped down, bare and lyrical,they all have their beginnings in the ‘chord’ heard before any words come.These, and the other poems that make up Part 2, are the work of a masterful, mature poet, whose themes of ageing and d... read more

Award-winning poet and a distinguished actor Peter Bland (Came a Hot Friday) was born in Yorkshire and emigrated to NZ in 1954. In this new collection he continues 'to give the world back to itself'' with insight, energy and tact. Vivid - witty - original - accessible ...the perfect introduction to poetry.

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Fast Talking PI is the first 'singular, confident and musical' collection of poetry by Auckland writer Selina Tusitala Marsh. 'Tusitala' means writer of tales in Samoan, and Marsh here lives up to her name with stories of her life, her family, community, ancestry, and history. Her poetry is sensuous and strong, using lush imagery, clear rhythms and repetitions to power it forward. The list poem is a favourite style, but she also writes with a Pacific lyricism entirely her own. Fast Talking PI is structured in three sections, 'Tus... read more

Ian Wedde's new poetry collection, his fourteenth, finds him still in business. At the heart of the book is the stunning 'Good Business' sequence, at once an ode to walking the side-streets of central Wellington and an elegy for the poet's father. Quietly hilarious, the poems are titled after Wellington businesses and institutions - Tony's Tyre Service, Metalworx Engineering, Wellington Scrap Metal, the KFC on the corner of Pirie Street and C O Products Ltd. Gradually, though, Wedde's jaunty and self-deprecating tone becomes more s... read more

DoP - March 2008 64pp "McNaughton shows us a vivid mosaic stretching from the occident to the orient and back again; from the shadows cast by international politics and consumer culture to light and colour and their metaphysical origins."

In Vitro is the debut collection of poems by well known New Zealand writer Laura Solomon. In Vitro presents fresh poems on a wide variety of subjects from in vitro experiments, vampire bats, Janet Frame and earthquakes to Pythia getting the blues and Guy Fawkes giving his sincerest apology.

Apart from four years while studying at the University of Chicago, Kerry Popplewell has lived in Wellington all her adult life. Despite this, she grew up in Hawke's Bay and thinks of the Kaweka and Ruahine ranges as her home territory. Since she stopped teaching over ten years ago, her poems have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies. This first collection would have happened sooner had she not been distracted by grandchildren and her interest in tramping. First published April 2010 Paperback 72pp h210mm x w138mm

Little Rock is a collection of poems written over the past decade by Rosetta Allan - one of New Zealand's up and coming poets.

This superb collection of poems shows the benefit of ten years gestation. A group of beautiful formal lyrics which recount time spent in Japan is followed by one considering family and ancestry. The major part of the book consists of poems coming from years spent living and studying overseas and then settling back in New Zealand and starting a family. With its broad scope and variety of lyric styles, Mapping the Distance is a landmark book. First published May 2010.

“No brief review can hope to do justice to this dense, intricate and vivid collection. Not to be consumed rapidly like verbal takeaways, but sipped and savoured; soul food, mind food.” - NZ Herald Canvas Magazine. First published March 2005.

Twelve months of a laureate: in 2008 Michele Leggott wrote a poem a week to record her term as the inaugural New Zealand Poet Laureate. In her new collection of poems Mirabile Dictu ('mi.rah.buh.lay dik.tu' - Wonderful to relate; amazing to say), she relates the wonders of those 12 months, which took her to Matahiwi Marae in Hawke's Bay to receive her brilliant sky-blue, specially carved tokotoko, Te Kikorangi; through a time of mourning for and celebration of former poet laureate Hone Tuwhare; to Florence, across a 'poetic bridge'... read more

Colin Webster-Watson (1926–2007) was a sculptor who lived and exhibited in London, Rome, New York, Palm Springs and Wellington. He was also a prolific poet. Natural Zoo brings together 101 of his poems, written over 50 years. They explore his passionate belief in the innate goodness of the natural world, the role of the artist, and the power of love. Includes: * Introductions by editors Anne Manchester and poet/novelist Mary McCallum * Illustrated biography of Colin Webster-Watson * Vibrant & life-... read more

Shortlisted for the 2000 Montana NZ Book Awards, poetry section. Robert Sullivan's new book is a major poem by a Maori poet who has reached an impressive maturity. His achievement here in a rich and complex work of 100 poems (plus opening and closing verses) far outstrips his two earlier collections and is a landmark in contemporary New Zealand poetry. Drawing on the two symbols of Star and Waka, the poet explores themes of journeying and navigation, moving back and forth in time and focus between here and there, between ne... read more

The inaugural winner of the Kathleen Grattan Award, The Summer King tells stories, exploring the world we inhabit and our relationships with the other. Myth, catastrophe, family, strangers, sex, sport – all feature in this ÃÂÂÃÂ... read more

With four volumes of poetry behind her, the Christchurch broadcaster and writer here weaves together love, loss, separation, madness and redemption in a captivating and moving long prose poem. “Beautifully written with a very sure touch: it reminded me of Virginia Woolf...” — Sarah Quigley.

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