Author: Kiri Piahana-Wong Reviewer: Hebe Kearney

Tidelines interweaves the poet's own life with the tragic story of Hinerangi, who lived at Karekare in the distant past. These are poems of Auckland's west coast, reflecting the steady rhythms of daily existence, alongside grief, mental unwellness, disintegration and resolution.

April 2024 release

Editors: David Eggleton, Vaughan Rapatahana, Mere Taito Reviewer: Elizabeth Heritage

‘Katūīvei: Contemporary Pasifika Poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand is the latest in a decades-long line of anthologies of Pasifika poetry written in English. The title is a neologism created by editors David Eggleton, Vaughan Rapatahana and Mere Taito, referencing the Rotuman verb to navigate and the tūī, bird of two voiceboxes.’

April 2024 release

Author: Louise Wallace Reviewer: Anna Scaife

‘Ash is a bruising portrait of what boils in the belly of a woman who is “coping”, revealed with humour and a rare candour.’

April 2024 release

Should you judge Lee Murray’s soon-to-be-released Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud by its cover?

Take a look at our cover reveal and read what author Lee Murray, artist Kim Lowe and graphic designer Christine Ling have to say about bringing this audacious blend of biography, mythology, horror and poetry to life visually.

April 2024 release

Author: Joshiah Morgan Publisher: Dead Bird Books

Bold and queer, i’m still growing pushes back against the conventions of autobiographical poetry to offer a distorted mirror to a messy world. Morgan shares his poem ‘wraith’ which he describes as a grief poem, a eulogy to friends that have passed on or are in the process of passing on.

Released 1 March 2024

Poets: Jilly O’Brien and Tim Saunders. Landfall Editor: Lynley Edmeades

Two prize-winning poems, The Tiriti Translator by Jilly O’Brien and Aloneness by Tim Saunders, extracted from the current issue of Landfall.

Released November 2023

Publisher: @maorilitblog. Reviewer: Elizabeth Heritage

Elizabeth Heritage is intrigued by Pūhia the new journal of Māori art and literature produced by the anonymous reviewer behind the popular and influential @maorilitblog Instagram account.

Released November 2023

To say Jade Kake is busy is a bit of an understatement. With not one, but two books published in 2023 (while also working in her day job as director and architectural and urban designer at architectural firm Matakohe and as a senior lecturer at AUT) she was in need of a summer holiday — big time.

Author: Michael O’Leary . Editors: Vaughan Rapatahana and Kiri Piahana-Wong

‘Hone’s mood went angry. ‘My father was in the Māori Battalion in the desert war,’ said Hone. ‘He used to tell me that despite the whole terrible time of the war, the years of fighting and deprivation, the dead comrades, the worst thing he ever experienced, far worse than anything fucking Rommel dished up, occurred on the ship on the way back, eh.’

Read ‘The Burst Pipe’ extracted from Te Awa o Kupu.

Released August 2023

Author: Dominic Hoey. Designer: Trudi Hewitt. Reviewer: Greg Fleming.

‘Hoey is making our local literary landscape exciting again and there’s no better proof than this collection…’

Rapture features 90 performance poets, rappers, spoken-word artists, slam poets, theatre makers, genre blenders and storytellers brought together by Carrie Rudzinski and Grace Iwashita-Taylor to celebrate the diverse voices and communities within Aotearoa. Here, the duo explains how they took poems from the stage to the page.

Author: Tusiata Avia. Publisher: Te Herenga Waka University Press.

Extract: Ode: Don’t Punish the Wealthy from Big Fat Brown Bitch by Tusiata Avia.

November 2023 release

Editor: Anne Kennedy. Publisher: Auckland University Press.

‘Remember Me is full of poetry to read aloud and remember. For funerals, weddings, occasions, evenings at home etc... There’s long been a gap for this book and Auckland University Press has brought it to life.’

October 2023 release

Author: Dani Yourukova. Reviewer: Erica Stretton.

‘Dani Yourukova’s debut poetry collection Transposium has a striking cover: one that promises a fascinating book within. And the poetry definitely doesn’t disappoint; it takes Plato’s Symposium and brings it to life into modern form, incorporating concerns and problems from 2023 to make a playful, philosophical and thoughtful book.’

October 2023 release

Author: Rushi Vyas. Reviewer: Siobhan Harvey.

‘Originally from the United States, Vyas’ composes a work in which an instance of traumatic personal loss acts as a starting point to poetically examine and dismantle the private and public impacts of British colonialism, American imperialism, patriarchy and caste hierarchies. The result is a politically charged meditation upon the world we live in and the world we might bequeath to those who come after us..’

September 2023 release

Author: Bill Nelson. Reviewer: Vaughan Rapatahana.

‘I enjoyed reading this slim volume. Why? Not just because the plot momentum and machination transported me swiftly through the pages, augmented as they are by much of the script being written in unrhyming free verse, but because Nelson writes well, scribes skilfully. The book is easy to explore.’

September 2023 release

Authors: John Allison & Pat White. Reviewer: David Hill.

‘Why don't I read more poetry? Partly it's narrow-mindedness. I don't write poetry, so it's not my first choice to read. Laziness also features, I don't focus enough; I read extensively rather than intensively. I find the linear movement of fiction and most non-fiction easier. I miss out by not reading more poets. These two new selections from Roger Hickin's Cold Hub Press – and all hail to that faithful servant / practitioner – prove the point.’

September 2023 release

The Artist nā Ruby Solly. Nā Robert Sullivan i arotake.

He takinga kōrero mā te toikupu mō ngā iwi whakahirahira o Te Tonga 'and ways of knowing grounded in whakapapa'.

An account in poems of our great Southern iwi 'and ways of knowing grounded in whakapapa'.

“Being Poet Laureate has always been a ‘maybe someday’ goal for me, but I never expected to be appointed in the role before turning 40! The role is a huge opportunity to give back to the community that has supported and encouraged me since my early days as an aspiring poet.”

On Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, New Zealand Poet Laureate (2022-2024) Chris Tse talks about the role, his favourite NZ poem, the ingredients needed for a successful poets’ dinner party and taking part in the first-ever open mic held at the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C.

Author: Robyn Maree Pickens. Publisher: Otago University Press.

Read Robyn Maree Pickens’ poem Praise the warming world (Try to) — after Adam Zagajewski from Tung.

August 2023 release