Another Monday; another big aftershock. With two aftershocks of its own (4.4 and 3.3), and a pre-shock (4.3, which I didn't feel, thank goodness). Closest I've been to diving under my desk for a very long time. But I'm ok; Stewart’s ok; the chooks are ok; and the house is ok (as far as I …
Dawn, reprieve, and mercy – the preliminary deliberations continue
Times before number, condemned criminals had waited for their last dawn. Yet until the very end they could hope for a reprieve; human judges can show mercy. But against the laws of nature, there is no appeal. – Arthur C. Clarke, The Wind From the Sun: Stories of the Space Age (1972). Well it's been …
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Whittling soberly – the preliminary deliberations
Four things belong to a judge: to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly, and to decide impartially. – Socrates I have now read through all poems at least four times – twice or more yesterday, and twice or more today. It's both better and worse than I feared. Better in that there are …
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‘An island entire’ – judging the NZPS 2011 Haiku comp
Judging is a lonely job in which a man is, as near as may be, an island entire. – Abe Fortas Today my sack of poems from the NZPS 2011 International Haiku Competition arrived. This is my first time judging for the NZPS, and I'm feeling a strange surge of pleasurable anticipation. I know from …
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New Zealand Post Book Awards 2011
Muppet that I am, I forgot that the 2011 New Zealand Post Book Awards shortlists – including the winners of the Best First Books – were announced today. Thhis year's NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry has gone to … Lynn Jenner’s Dear Sweet Harry (Auckland University Press). I have to admit …
A Dark Feathered Art 