Last night at the CPC we launched the John O'Connor First Book Award – a competition that will see one lucky (and brilliantly talented) Christchurch-based poet have their debut poetry collection published by Sudden Valley Press, with the backing and enthusiastic promotion of the whole Canterbury Poets' Collective.One of the great privileges of being on …
CPC Poetry Readings – the 2015 edition
Daffodils? Check. Hayfever? Check. Blackbirds negotiating sex and territory from 4am? Check. It must be time again for the Canterbury Poets’ Collective Poetry in Performance readings! You can download your own copy of the poster by clicking here. Or just feast your eyes below: As always, a mixture of well known, not-so-well-known, local and visiting poets: Sept …
In memory of John O’Connor
We’ve lost another one. John O’Connor died suddenly last Tuesday (May 12th), aged 66. And there is a terrible irony here – he was Helen Bacand’s first publisher, as well as a longtime friend and mentor. John was a huge part of the Canterbury poetry scene, especially haiku. He was one of the first people in this …
Spring! Poetry!! Readings!!!
Yep, it’s that time of year again – New Zealand’s longest-running poetry readings series is back. Starting in just eleven days (October 2nd) and giving some sort of meaning back to Wednesday nights, it’s time to prepare yourself for eight weeks of Poetry in Performance! As usual, there will be an open mic session (with …
Autumn, Season of Readings
Well it's that time of year again. The leaves are starting to lose their green (so much for our "long hot summer"!) and shorts and T-shirts have settled into the back of the drawers. And all around Canterbury poets are trying out their voices – standing in front of mirrors, shuffling papers, timing themselves and …
A Dark Feathered Art 