Author Archives: Paula Green

Poetry Shelf Monday poem: Harry Ricketts’s ‘Ginny’s Garden’

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 Ginny’s Garden

(for Ginny Sullivan, 1950-2017)

 

Magpies quardle-oodle in the high firs.

Down here, under the overhang, it’s hot,

 

looking out over the lawn Karen says she cut

two weeks ago, and already thick, clumpy,

 

to the paddock where Friendly, the seven-year-old ewe

that you couldn’t bear to send to the butcher,

 

baas by the fence for kale and attention.

The veggies you planted have gone mad:

 

tomatoes big as butternuts; huge, shiny aubergines;

giant marrows; cabbage whites all over the basil.

 

In the Pears’ Soap poster in the bathroom,

two small girls still stare at large bubbles.

 

 

Harry Ricketts

 

 

Harry Ricketts teaches English literature and creative writing at Victoria University of Wellington. His latest collection, Winter Eyes, has been longlisted for this year’s Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

 

 

 

 

Poetry Shelf noticeboard: essa may ranapiri’s zines

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essa may ranapiri has added a zinging new zine to their collection. You can order a hard copy or read it (and others) online.

 

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Poetry Shelf noticeboard: an evening with Vivienne Plumb

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Award Winning Writer of Poetry, Drama and Fiction. 2018 Creative New Zealand Berlin Writing Resident.

Vivienne Plumb recently held the 2018 Creative New Zealand Berlin Writing Residency, and lived in Berlin for almost a year while researching and working on her new creative nonfiction book.

She is based in Wellington and writes poetry, drama and fiction. She has published twenty books in these three fields of writing.

She has held many writing residences, including the 2016 University of Auckland/Michael King Writing Residency and a University of Iowa residency; and has been the recipient of many awards including the Bruce Mason Playwrighting Award, the Hubert Church First Best Book Award, the Sargeson Fellowship, and an Australian post-graduate scholarship. She has acted as a judge for numerous poetry competitions and for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Her plays have been produced all over New Zealand and translated and published in Poland and Italy.

She is a member of the Academy of New Zealand Literature.

Her most recent book, a compilation of her past-published readers’ favourites, As Much Gold as an Ass Could Carry, has been translated into Italian and published in Italy.

Vivienne’s North Island reading tour is supported by the New Zealand Book Council.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this is a day of baking bread

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This is a day of reflection

This is a day of coming together

This is a day of baking sour dough bread

This is a day of breaking the bread and sharing

 

29.3.19

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poetry Shelf audio: Marty Smith reads ‘Hat’

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Marty Smith reads ‘Hat’ from Horse with a Hat, Victoria University Press, 2014

 

 

 

‘This is the kind of territory they were all locked together in. Here are the hills, and this is how they went to work.Left to right: Garth Smith (Dad) on Misty; Fiona Allpass on Poo: Marty Smith on Blackie: Bill Champion on Tiny: Chrissy Champion on Pet, and Paul Smith on Trixie.’ Marty on the photograph
Marty has given up teaching and administering literary events to work full time on writing a non-fiction book about what it takes to work in the racing industry and how and why people do. Her research involves regularly watching morning track work at the Hastings racecourse and betting at the TAB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poetry Shelf noticeboard: A letter from Verb Wellington

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Exciting news for Wellington and beyond! A truck load of cool initiatives.

 

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Welcome to Verb Wellington

Kia ora! We have some exciting news … LitCrawl Wellington is evolving. As a LitCrawl follower we are thrilled to let you know that LitCrawl Wellington is now part of a larger structure that we have lovingly named, Verb Wellington. You can read more about it below and also on our Verb Blog on the website.

Verb Wellington is:
Verb Festival: An annual writers festival featuring the famous LitCrawl. The dates are 6 – 10 November 2019 with the LitCrawl on 9 November.

Verb Events: We are presenting international writers throughout the year and have a number of great experiences coming up, including Helen Zaltzman (The Allusionist podcast), John Boyne (Irish novelist of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) and UK performance poet Luke Wright. For details and tickets see Verb Events here.

Verb Residencies: we are supporting Aotearoa writers with residency experiences to encourage and nurture their work. Read more about those here.

Verb Collaborations: we are excited to be partnering with other organisations to deliver literary events. Read more about those here.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO LITCRAWL, THEN?
Don’t worry – LitCrawl is still here! It’s all set for Saturday 9 November and is now part of Verb Festival which runs between 6 – 10 November and is made by the same people that create LitCrawl. We celebrate Aotearoa talent with international guests and we can’t wait to launch the programme in September.

Thank you for following us and supporting LitCrawl over the past five years. We are very excited about the future with Verb Wellington set to bring you memorable experiences with writers, conversations and ideas, in Wellingtonian places that you love.

Aroha nui,

The Verb Wellington team.

 

Website here