Letters to Young People by Glenn Colquhoun

$35.00 NZD

Category: Poetry

A Vase And a Vast Sea by Jenny Nimon (Ed)

$28.00 NZD

Category: Poetry

In A Vase and a Vast Sea, poetry and prose rustle against the window, scatter palm fronds across the road and sneak off to the movies on a Tuesday. There are moments of nostalgia blended with dangerous undercurrents and domestic life. Edited by Jenny Nimon, this collection is a reunion of writers suc h as Renée, Maggie Rainey-Smith, Barbara Else, Rata Gordon, Tim Jones and Adrienne Jansen, and is an essential keepsake of New Zealand literature and a much-loved writing course. ‘This collection is banging a drum. It’s softness. It’s relationships and eyerolls, bodies and beaches, classicism and the future and the visceral immediate. It quivers with life – a fitting memorial slab to a vibrant, unpredictable and inventive creative writing programme.’ – Jane Arthur ...Show more

The Fire of Joy: Roughly 80 Poems to Get by Heart and Say Aloud by Clive James

$39.99 NZD

Category: Poetry

Essentially, this is Clive James' desert island poems: a selection of his favourite verse and a personal commentary on each. The Fire of Joy was the final book Clive James completed before his death in 2019. It takes its title from the French expression Feu de Joie, which refers to a military celebration when all the riflemen of a regiment fire one shot after another in a wave of continuous sound: it is a reminder that the regiment’s collective power relies on the individual, and vice versa. In this book, James has chosen a succession of English poems, exploding in sequence from Chaucer to the present day; they tell the story of someone writing something wonderful, and someone else coming along, reading it, and feeling impelled to write something even more wonderful. After a lifetime, these are the poems James found so good that he remembered them despite himself. In offering them to you, the main purpose of this book is to provide ammunition that will satisfy your urge to discover, learn and declaim verse. As well as his selection of poems, James offers a commentary on each: whether this is a biographical, historical or critical introduction to the poem, or a more personal anecdote about the role a particular poem has played in James’s life, these mini essays provide the joy of James’s enthusiasm and the benefit of his knowledge. Full of the flashing fires of poems you will not be able to forget, this book will ignite your passion and leave you with a contagious crackle rattling in your ears. ...Show more

Swimming Lessons by Lili Reinhart

$27.99 NZD

Category: Poetry

The debut collection of poetry from Lili Reinhart, the actress and outspoken advocate for mental health awareness and body positivity.  Swimming Lessons is the first collection of poetry from one of the most beloved young actresses working today. It follows the euphoric beginnings of young love, battling anxiety and depression in the face of fame, and coming to terms with the end of a romance. Through it all, Lili's trademark honesty, optimism, and unique perspective are evident in her first poetry collection.  Relatable yet deeply intimate, provocative yet comforting, bite-sized yet profound, these beautiful poems are about growing up, falling down, and getting back up again. They capture what it feels like to be a young woman in today's image-obsessed world, and how to follow your heart even when the odds are stacked against you. Accompanied by striking and evocative illustrations, the poems in Swimming Lessons reveal the depths of female experience, and are the work of a storyteller who is coming into her own.   ...Show more

The Savage Coloniser Book by Tusiata Avia

$25.00 NZD

Category: Poetry

Kneel like a prayer full of lynching This is my God-given white ‘Savage is as savage does. And we’re all implicated. Avia breaks the colonial lens wide open. We peer through its poetic shards and see a savage world – outside, inside. With characteristic savage and stylish wit, Avia h olds the word-blade to our necks and presses with a relentless grace. At the end, you’ll feel your pulse anew.’ —Selina Tusitala Marsh, New Zealand Poet Laureate 2017–19  The voices of Tusiata Avia are infinite. She ranges from vulnerable to forbidding to celebratory with forms including pantoums, prayers and invocations. And in this electrifying new work, she gathers all the power of her voice to speak directly into histories of violence. Avia addresses James Cook in fury. She unravels the 2019 Christchurch massacre, walking us back to the beginning. She describes the contortions we make to avoid blame. And she locates the many voices that offer hope. The Savage Coloniser Book is a personal and political reckoning. As it holds history accountable, it rises in power.  'A welcome autopsy of colonisers in past and present times, penned with a scalpel's precision, the inspection of parts, minced down to the floor. Sit in your blood-splattered apron and feel as the verdict is read.' —Ali Cobby Eckermann ‘Tusiata Avia’s poetry . . . is a full-body plunge in winter seas. It’s breathtaking, skin tingling and teeth rattling. I feel alive. It’s as real to me as a salt-crested wave smashing me full in the face until I am nothing but that moment . . . Exhilaration, pain, vulnerability, joy, cheeky confidence and acknowledgement. But what I don’t feel is lonely.’ —Nafanua Kersel, The Hook ...Show more

The Death of Music Journalism by Simon Sweetman

$25.00 NZD

Category: Poetry

Simon Sweetman – blogger, reviewer, podcaster, and author of On Song: Stories Behind New Zealand’s Pop Classics – releases his first poetry collection, The Death of Music Journalism. Simon’s been writing poems since he was first listening to bands on his Walkman, but then he star ted sharing them via social media and open mic nights. Word got around and he was a sleeper hit at LitCrawl’s Lit-Sync For Your Life and the 2020 Variety for Fierys. Marking a pivot from the razor-sharp and sometimes controversial music writing he is best known for, Simon’s collection is as wide-ranging as his career to date. He writes about late-night encounters on the phone with rock stars, hanging out as a student in Wellington flats, the simplicity of time spent with family and the unpredictable life of a freelance music reviewer, and what happens when these things occasionally intersect. A natural storyteller whose poetry is filled with characters both famous and ordinary, this eagerly awaited collection is unpredictable, anarchic, playful and surprisingly heartfelt.   ...Show more

Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana Del Ray

$45.00 NZD

Category: Poetry

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT BOOK OF POETRY FROM LANA DEL REY, VIOLET BENT BACKWARDS OVER THE GRASS    "Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is the title poem of the book and the first poem I wrote of many. Some of which came to me in their entirety, which I dictated and then typed out, a nd some that I worked laboriously picking apart each word to make the perfect poem. They are eclectic and honest and not trying to be anything other than what they are and for that reason I'm proud of them, especially because the spirit in which they were written was very authentic."--Lana Del Rey   Lana's breathtaking first book solidifies her further as "the essential writer of her times" (The Atlantic). The collection features more than thirty poems, many exclusive to the book: Never to Heaven, The Land of 1,000 Fires, Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving, LA Who Am I to Love You?, Tessa DiPietro, Happy, Paradise Is Very Fragile, Bare Feet on Linoleum, and many more. This beautiful hardcover edition showcases Lana's typewritten manuscript pages alongside her original photography. The result is an extraordinary poetic landscape that reflects the unguarded spirit of its creator.   Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is also brought to life in an unprecedented spoken word audiobook which features Lana Del Rey reading fourteen select poems from the book accompanied by music from Grammy Award-winning musician Jack Antonoff. ...Show more

A World Full of Poems

$48.00 NZD

Category: Poetry

A gorgeously illustrated introduction to poetry for children, featuring poems about everything from science, sport, and space, to friendship, family, and feelings. This thoughtfully crafted anthology is perfect for children new to verse, and for young poetry fans seeking out new favourites. Explore poet ry from a diverse selection of contemporary and historical poets, covering a broad range of topics - from personal subjects like emotions and family, to the wonders of the natural environment. Carefully selected works encourage children to see the poetry in everything, and to embrace the beauty of their everyday lives. Prompts and activities inspire children to create their own poetry, and devices like rhyme, repetition, and alliteration are introduced and explained in a fun and accessible manner. ...Show more

SLAM! You're Gonna Wanna Hear This by Nikita Gill

$19.99 NZD

Category: Poetry

It's time to reclaim poetry. Collected by international poetry sensation Nikita Gill, SLAM! You're Gonna Wanna Hear This is a joyful celebration of the ground-breaking poets making their voices heard in the spoken word scene. Empowering, inspiring and often hilarious, SLAMs are a platform for well-known and emerging talent from all walks of life where every style of poetry has a home. With poets such as Raymond Antrobus and Dean Atta guest starring alongside up-and-coming poets in the SLAM scene, this is the perfect introduction to world of modern poetry. Each poet will introduce their poem, tell you a little bit about themselves and give you a tip for preparing brilliant poetry for SLAMs. ...Show more

Granta 151 by Rana Dasgupta (Editor)

$27.99 NZD

Category: Poetry | Series: The\Magazine of New Writing Ser.

Membranes - porous biological interfaces which regulate flows between one zone and another - are the foundational image for an issue guest-edited by Granta contributor and best-selling novelist Rana Dasgupta. Featuring new poetry from Andrew McMillan and Tishani Doshi, photography from Ruchir Joshi, Ar turo Soto Gutierrez, Monica de la Torre and Anita Khemka, as well as cutting-edge fiction and thought-provoking essays: Fatin Abbas on the border between Sudan and South Sudan Lydia Davis on faultlines in families Mark Doty on homelessness in New York City Anouchka Grose on infidelity and the idea of the unwanted thirdKapka Kassabova on lakes and Europe Anita Roy on the newt Eyal Weizman on contemporary architectural strategies for repelling and dividing people ...Show more

Opening Little Boxes by Kees Lodder, Cathy Casey, Manuela Bertão, Alex Casey

$19.99 NZD

Category: Poetry

Opening Little Boxes is a series of reflections by three generations of a family living in one home during the COVID-19 lockdown.    Each chapter is written from the perspective of a different family member (including two pets). The characters reveal their inner concerns and feelings and find their way to wisdom and love.    The authors—two medical doctors, a city councillor, and a writer—hope Opening Little Boxes will spark discussions about the things that matter most in life.    100% Author Royalties pledged to Auckland City Mission and Lifewise. ...Show more

How to Be Happy Though Human: New and Selected Poems by Kate Camp

$30.00 NZD

Category: Poetry

A timely collection of new and previously published work by one of Aotearoa’s most acclaimed poets, How to Be Happy Though Human is Kate Camp’s superb seventh book of poetry. It is published simultaneously in Canada and the United States by House of Anansi Press. Kate Camp’s poetry has been described by critics as ‘fearless’, ‘wry, sympathetic, affable, deadpan’, and ‘containing a surprising radicalism and power’. Incorporating new, previously unpublished work and a selection of important poems from her six earlier collections, How to Be Happy Though Human represents a new chapter in her career. Camp’s debut collection, Unfamiliar Legends of the Stars, won the NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry on publication over twenty years ago. Subsequent books confirmed Camp as a leading voice of her generation: widely anthologised, studied, and cited as an influence by emerging poets. Her work is recognised for its wide-ranging and eclectic subject matter, its technical control and its musicality, with pop culture, high culture, the domestic confessional, close observation and found language featured as recurring elements. Her fourth collection, The Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls – which shares a title with Belgian mystic Marguerite Porete’s 1310 collection, a book that caused is author to be burned at the stake – won the poetry award at the New Zealand Post Book Awards in 2011 and marked a turn in her work towards darker and more philosophical subject matter. ‘When I yell at North Americans about how we, too, should be reading the living poets of Aotearoa/New Zealand, Kate Camp is one of the poets I have in mind. She’s one of the poets, too, who’s so amazing because  she doesn’t yell: she’s patient with the world and with its seagulls, attentive to the injustice and the kindness and the frustration we can share with one another, if we’re lucky, anyway. What if Elizabeth Bishop had more friends, and more encouragement early on? What if  “sports fields built on rubbish dumps” became safe places to play? What if, in an exquisite pun, we could see “cranes like cranes”? Here are the land and the sea, the children and the grownups too, both as they are and as we wish they could be: here is “the so-called outside world”, and here is its wonderfully sensitive, fluently understated poet, “absolutely fluent . . . yet somewhat on fire”. —Stephanie Burt Poet, essayist and reviewer Kate Camp was born in 1972 and lives in Wellington. She is the winner of many prestigious awards, including the 2011 Creative New Zealand Berlin Writers’ Residency and the 2017 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship.  ...Show more