Here are my anthologies:
Dear Heart: 150 New Zealand Love Poems Random House, 2012
“‘Love – that complicated, delicious, pleasurable, necessary feeling ties us to another human, to a mother, father, son, daughter, sibling, lover or friend. Love can also tie us to a place, an experience, an object. We love and we are loved; unexpectedly, gloriously, painfully, deeply. (Paula Green)’ The majority of the 150 New Zealand love poems selected by anthologist Paula Green for this gorgeous collection reveal adult love – from the sparks of youth to the changing nature of love in old age – but she has also included examples of the love of offspring (Janet Charman’s warm loaf), of particular places (Brian Turner and the Maniototo Plains) and of beloved objects (James Brown’s bicycle). As she says ‘I have arranged the poems as though I were composing a symphony rather than sticking to a chronological rule, because I wanted poetic music along with poetic heart. Now it is over to the reader to explore the different echoes, the unexpected juxtapositions, the contours of tone, the historical links and disconnections, the contemporary exposures.’ This outstanding anthology, beautifully packaged and including illustrations by leading New Zealand artists, does just that. It also serves as a delightful gift book and as an introduction to the work of this country’s finest modern poets.” Random House website
99 Ways into New Zealand Poetry Paula Green and Harry Ricketts Random House 2010
‘SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2011 NZ POST BOOK AWARDS FOR NON FICTION This lively and accessible introduction to New Zealand poetry celebrates its richness and variety by outlining many of the ways it can be read – and written. Its 85 poems have been chosen for their quality and because they demonstrates a significant way of understanding poetry, from looking at such elements as form, features and effects to understanding how context and identity are expressed. In addition, 25 poets talk about what inspired them to write specific works.Compiled and written by two of this country’s most distinguished poets, and brimming with at least 99 ways to appreciate poetry, it invites you to bring the 100th: your own unique take.’ Random House Website
Wild Honey: Reading NZ Women’s Poetry, Massey University Press, 2019
New Zealand women have published poetry for over 150 years. In this landmark book, poet and anthologist Paula Green celebrates and makes connections between 201 of them, from emerging poets and those who are household names to those who have slipped from public view or were not paid the honour they were due in their lifetimes.
Wide-ranging, engaging and affecting, Wild Honey celebrates the many ways in which poems by women deserve a place in the literary canon of Aotearoa. Charming and unique, the book’s chapters follow the structure of a house, with different poets being discussed and assessed in each of the house’s rooms.
The selection is enormously generous, the tone is at times gentle and accessible, and Green’s reach is wide. She brings the pioneers of women’s poetry — Jessie Mackay, Blanche Baughan and Eileen Duggan — back from the shadows, and she also draws our attention to the remarkable stories of forgotten women poets such as Lola Ridge.
‘It is noisy, refreshing and proudly anchored in the domestic . . . Green is an engaging host, throwing open the curtains, whisking off the dust sheets, coursing through different poetic traditions in animated homage to women’s writing.’ — Sally Blundell, New Zealand Listener
‘A stunning book.’ — Read NZ
‘This was an extremely difficult book to review because it merits much more than a linear reading. It’s a book that beckons the reader to return to it, with pencil markings and post-it notes.’ — Emer Lyons, Landfall Review Online
Here are my poetry books:
The Track, Seraph Press, 2019
In the spring of 2015 Paula Green walked Queen Charlotte Track, her poet’s eye taking in the beauty of her surroundings and the history of the land. Early on the final day she slipped and injured herself, and had to walk out for nine hours on her broken foot – a journey made more dramatic by the ongoing storm.
To get through, and alleviate the pain, she composed poems in her head. The resulting poems are urgent, energetic, obsessive and compelling. Full of pain and joy, they take us on a journey though wild beauty, mind and memory, and a storm of words.
New York Pocket Book, Seraph Press, 2016
You need the right person beside the right tree in the right light in the right city and this is love.
— ‘Listening to Frank O’Hara’
Paula Green turns her thoughtfulness and linguistic playfulness in a new direction in her latest collection. This reflective meander around a new city – the Big Apple – is part travelogue, part essay on the nature of poetry.
The Baker’s Thumbprint Seraph Press, 2013
‘There is a glowing, throbbing beauty in this one. This little book seems to pulse with warmth and a sense of calm, comfort and joy. Green this time around has blown open the doors and taken in an endless rainbow of excitement and imagination. All the way you think, ‘Wow, wonder what’s coming next?’ Hamesh Wyatt Otago Daily Times
‘Philosophers, scientists and artists such as Socrates, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Einstein and Jane Austen pop in for lunch, stay for the afternoon, dance at outdoor concerts and generally inhabit the every-day in these playful and thought-provoking poems by much-admired poet Paula Green.’ Seraph Press website
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Slip Stream Auckland University Press, 2010
‘Green knows how to create atmosphere and mood born of genuine conviction. Slip Stream is lovely, weird and warm.’ – Hamesh Wyatt, Otago Daily Times
‘Slip Stream is an account of a time when Paula Green was buffeted in the slipstream of an illness. How can life go on as usual? she asks – and finds answers in poetry and music, crosswords and cherries, lists and family love.’
Making Lists for Frances Hodgkins Auckland University Press, 2007
‘Making Lists for Frances Hodgkins was inspired by an invitation from the Auckland City Art Gallery to talk about their 2005 Frances Hodgkins exhibition. The eight opening poems focus on eight Hodgkins paintings and often use Green’s characteristic list structure; the next part includes a number of autobiographical poems, lyrical and often beautiful, about the role art has played in her life. In the third section art moves into poetry, they intermingle in the works of some favourite artists and in the context of a recent illness; and, finally, a long poem ‘Letter to Anne Kennedy’ brings the main themes together.’ AUP website
Crosswind Auckland University Press, 2004
Green’s poems set up an intuitive, dreamlike conversation with the artworks, expanding and elaborating the visual rather than pinning it down. . . . Green’s is a lyrical and highly visual language, which collaborates readily with the visual.’ – Art News
‘In three parts, Crosswind is a lyrical collection from major New Zealand poet. The first part evokes New Zealand landscapes, especially the southern mountains, and Italy, town and countryside, and includes some beautiful love poems. The middle section, ‘Lounge Suite’, comprises poems written in response to works by contemporary New Zealand artists who have in turn created new images especially for this book. The final section, ‘Westbound and Floating’, recalls the popular music of the 1970s and the poet’s youth.’ AUP website
Chrome Auckland University Press, 2004
‘The more I read of Paula’s work, the more strongly I feel that hers is the most original and distinctive voice writing in New Zealand poetry today, which means the world really because it doesn’t seem to me there is anywhere else in the world where more original, strong and surprising poetry is being written than in New Zealand’ – Anna Jackson, JAAM
‘Chrome is leading poet Paula Green’s second collection of poems and is a way of coming to terms with some essential relationships in her own life, with her parents, and with poetry. A single sequence, Chrome has four parts named for colours: yellow, red, green and blue. Each part includes thirteen or fourteen 12-line poems.’ AUP website
Cookhouse Auckland University Press, 1998
‘Green’s writing is musical, sensuous, tender, quick-witted, ‘a ripple box’, eminently quotable, and it is supported by the inclusion of Michael Hight’s subtle, Hotere-like drawings.’ – Gerry Webb, NZ Listener
‘In Cookhouse, Paula Green writes about her own life as a mother of three daughters and as a poet. She uses the metaphor of food, cooking and meals to represent the nurturing, caring experience of women and also the poet’s loving concern for language and fondness for others who have worked with words.’
My children’s books:
Flamingo Bendalingo Auckland University Press, 2006, illustrated by Michael Hight
‘All the entries are beautifully displayed and are complemented by fantastic illustrations from Michael Hight. . . .There are around 90 of his drawings here – all delightfully whimsical and beautifully coloured – and they add that extra zing to an already interesting book . . . a great addition to anyone’s library.’ – Lisa Hoult, Taranaki Daily News
‘In Flamingo Bendalingo, all the animals of the zoo, from sea lions to giraffes, from meerkats to elephants, come to life in poems written by 50 children and experienced poet Paula Green.
The animals roar, they squeal, they lope and lie, they splash and munch. The lines of the poems capture in words, their funny shapes and their bright colours. Energetic rhythms and sparkling images make you laugh and make you think.
In three parts, with Green’s poems making up one part, the poems by the children making up another, and an extensive glossary of definitions and examples, this brilliant book of zoo poems makes writing poetry easy and reading it fun.’ AUP website
Aunt Concertina and Her Niece Evalina Random House 2009 illustrated by Michael Hight
‘Aunt Concertina and her niece Evalina is a wondrous book – a feast of words and a visual feast of stunning paintings.Aunt Concertina is an avid junk shop shopper who takes her unwilling niece along with her and, to Evalina’s great delight, they find a magic kite which takes them on adventures throughout the world. They go to Mt Everest, the Nile, a volcano, Greenland, the Sahara, Venezeula, Tokyo, the Amazon and finally back home to their own special place. It’s a whirlwind of exploration.Every page is jam-packed with delight – there is so much to find in every extraordinarily detailed illustration and the language is rich in the kind of detail that children will love. ‘
Macaroni Moon Random House 2009 illustrated by Sarah Laing
‘This fun collection of poems is perfect for children from 5 to 12. They’re about food and colours and cats and dogs and nursery rhymes and odd folk. Some rhyme, some just have rhythm, some play with words and others are just playful. They’re great to read aloud and there’s plenty of inspiration here for children to write their own poems. Sarah Laing’s inventive illustrations add another layer of fun and meaning to each poem.’ Random House website
The Terrible Night, illustrated by Chis Grosz, Penguin, 2014
Imaginative story about a creative cat and teacher and their adventures with words. It’s parent/teacher night at school and Miss May sits alone in Room 28 looking out at the dark and stormy night. A beautiful cat comes to visit and together their imaginations run wild. They create all sorts of much worse scenarios than the terrible night outside.
Full of wonderful words, references to much loved children’s books, mad adventures and happy endings, The Terrible Night is a fun read for children and adults alike. Illustrated on nearly every page with wonderful illustrations by Chris Grosz.
Groovy Fish and other Poems, The Cuba Press, 2019
Author of the award-winning The Letterbox Cat, Paula Green’s bright new poems have grown out of titles collected from her fans during her Hot Spot Poetry Tour of Aotearoa. These poems dash and dart, whisper and purr … tell of tap-dancing fish, cheese-spaghetti dogs, annoying itches, thunder monkeys and midnight moons. In Paula’s world skies are pumpkins, lions live in kennels and her own wild drawings dance across the page.
Roar Squeak Purr, Illustrated by Jenny Cooper, Penguin, 2022
A marvellous menagerie of more than 200 animal poems by Aotearoa’s best writers, ROAR SQUEAK PURR shows just how fun poetry can be, and is sure to inspire a new generation of poets.
In between the covers of this book you will meet creatures large and small. They might pad, or skitter, swoosh or soar. They could be fuzzy, feathery, suckery, scaly or spiky. These animals might ROAR or squeak or Purrrrrrrrrr. Just like the animals they are about, these poems come in all shapes and sizes! They tell stories, pose questions, make us feel things – and they all make glorious music.
If your kids think poetry isn’t for them, Roar Squeak Purr will cure that thought forever! This exuberant treasury brings together over 200 animal poems by New Zealand’s best writers, many of them written by children. The poems were selected and edited by champion poet Paula Green, winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Poetry and creator of the popular Poetry Box blog, and teamed with Jenny Cooper’s cheeky, whimsical and adorable illustrations.
Roar Squeak Purr is destined to be a family treasure – and to inspire a new generation of poets.
Little Tales of Hedgehog and Goat, illustrated by Kimberly Andrews, 2022
A charming illustrated chapter book for children six years and up about friendship and finding the magic in the everyday. A delightful illustrated novel for children about a goat and a hedgehog who meet in a farm field and become best friends.
Goat is looking at the sky and dreaming of a best friend when she hears a strange squeaking coming from a ball of prickles. It’s Hedgehog, and she is crying. This is the beginning of a most unexpected friendship. Though Goat is a creature of the day and Hedgehog hunts at night, life in their rolling paddock will never be lonely or boring again.
Chock-full of adventure and wisdom, tall stories and tiny poems, Little Tales of Hedgehog and Goat is a charming novel about friendship and finding the magic in the every day. It’s the perfect bedtime chapter book that will be enjoyed by child and adult, and all fans of Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows and Snake and Lizard.
NZ Poetry Shelf 
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