Unless you've been living in a cave (or rely on Guardian Live for your news) you'll know that last night, a big quake (6.5) hit central New Zealand. The epicentre was in Cook Strait, with the nearest town being Seddon in Marlborough (South Island), and the next being our capital city, Wellington. You poor buggers. …
Life Lines, Ear worms and Derek Walcott’s White Egrets
I don't know how widely this is known – The Academy of American Poets website has been collecting people's favourite lines of poetry, along with a short explanation of why it is that those particular words matter to them. It's called Life Lines, and is well worth a visit. (As is their Poetcast podcast. But …
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Two years on … and on … and on …
So here we are, the second anniversary of the quake that broke my city. Two years. Seems like much less. And much more. Talking to other people, one of the things that is really clear is how fuzzy the memories of life pre-quake have become. I remember having lunch at the Strip occasionally, and how …
Titles, titles and titular singularities
I’ve been spending a bit of time lately trying to think of better (or at least more interesting) titles for some of my new poems. Having three current ones that languished as ‘untitled’ was one of the things that prompted me, as was getting a copy of James Wright’s Above the River: The Complete Poems. …
And so the year begins (… better late than never)
Hooray, I’ve just written my first poem for the year! (Yes, I know it’s February already – return your gaze to the post title for a moment. See? I realise it may seem as though I create the titles first and then organise my life – or at least my posting schedule – to follow …
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A Dark Feathered Art 