Magic, collaborations, not growing up: Elena de Roo

Elena de Roo is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s foremost poets for children, with her work widely published in magazines, websites and anthologies. She has also written children’s books that have been published in the UK, US, Australia and Aotearoa, and she’s been awarded three Storylines Notable Book Awards. In 2010 Elena was awarded the Todd New Writer’s Bursary to write a collection of poems and Wizardry to Wētā Verse is the long-awaited result, and is available for purchase in independent bookshops around the country. Check out BookHub for locations.

Tell us about a stand-out moment writing or releasing Wizardry to WētāVerse. Was there something you hadn’t anticipated, or that pushed you out of your comfort zone, or that delighted you?

It was definitely a stand-out moment for me when my author copies of Wizardry to Wētā Verse arrived on the doorstep. I’ve been working on this collection, on and off, since being awarded the Todd New Writer’s Bursary in 2010 and have had a few set-backs along the way. To be honest, I don’t think I truly believed it was going to happen until that moment.

A real unexpected delight was the way Wizardry to Wētā Verse grew into such a wonderful collaboration. Around this time last year, my daughter, Juliet, offered to do the artwork. It was her first foray into illustrating and Mary McCallum generously offered to let her work from a spare desk at The Cuba Press office. Denika Mead (publishing intern from Whitireia and author in her own right) wholeheartedly bought into the design work and the team at The Cuba Press came up with some great suggestions which we incorporated into to the collection. It was such a lovely experience to be able to work on the book together and I’m so happy with the end result.

One thing that unexpectedly pushed me out of my comfort zone was having to kill some of my darlings (I’ve been through the editorial process quite a few times with other writing and thought I’d be fine) but I hadn’t factored in how much more personal my poems felt to me. I had to have quite a few stern words with myself at times.

Who is your ideal reader? Who absolutely needs to read this book?

Anyone who dares enter the Goblin Forest after dark and is brave enough to descend into Gutter’s Gap (not to mention The Dark Inky Deep) should have no trouble finding their way in, but I’d still advise them to leave a note and carry a PLB just in case they get lost in the pages.

What inspires you? An author, a book, a place, or something we won’t have anticipated…

All of the above – Hone Tuwhare, Paula Green, a quirky word, a catchy rhythm, a street sign, something that’s happened to me, sometimes a sense of wonder or something I think I’ll have fun letting my imagination run wild with – a recipe for an actual rainbow instead of a rainbow cake (I loved those Acme Growing Powders in cartoons when I was little) or a plant-based blood substitute for a Vegan Vampire Pirate — and weird connections (I love a list poem). A deadline!

Once a topic for a poem has sparked my interest I like nothing better than going down the research rabbit hole to find out more. For instance there’s a poem in the book about Bluebottles which began many years ago with me and Juliet finding thousands of them washed up on Onetangi beach one day when we were holidaying there. Also known as Pacific man ‘o war, their name invoked an image of a fleet of stranded battle ships. Later, with a little more digging, I uncovered all sorts of lovely rhythmic words to incorporate (pneumatophores, siphonophores, nematocysts etc.) as well as learning a whole host of interesting facts about bluebottles I hadn’t know before. It’s a poem that I kept tweaking over the years but never felt quite finished until I made one last change just before the book went off to print!

What Aotearoa New Zealand book do you wish you’d written?

Come Rain Hail by Hone Tuwhare – I couldn’t find the copy I owned as a young adult, which was instrumental in me falling in love with poetry again after having the joy taken out of it studying it at university, so I recently purchased one second hand with the same cover. I would love to have written something so beautiful and perfectly formed, and that says so much in so few words, as the titular poem. Sigh!

Haiku

Stop your snivelling creek-bed:

come rain hail and flood-water

laugh again

- Hone Tuwhare

What’s been the stand-out book you’ve read this year?

I loved The Grimmelings by Rachael King and the way it wasn’t afraid to go to some dark places and am totally in awe of the amazing ideas and detail in Ultrawild by Steve Mushin.

And last, but definitely not least, what are you planning to write next?

Juliet and I really enjoyed working together, something collaborative would be fun… poems designed to be performed perhaps… or, if I can come up with the right topic, I’m keen to attempt a verse novel. I have some nebulous thoughts about another junior fantasy novel too. I’ve never quite given up believing in magic — I think that’s part of what drives me to write.

At the moment, not having my next writing project set in concrete is giving me a feeling of freedom and possibility but I know from past experience, I need to be careful not to let it go on too long as that when self-doubt starts to sneak in. Wizardry to Wētā Verse (The Cuba Press, June 2024, 9781991150882) is available in bookstores now.