Rejoice Instead: Collected Poems

New Zealand West Coast poet, novelist, teacher, bookseller and conservationist, Peter Hooper (1919–1991), was described by Colin McCahon, who used his poems in a number of art works, as a ‘poet of grace and truth’. His voice on behalf of nature and the environment, and clear insight into where our treatment of the environment was heading, has only deepened in its relevance in the 21st century. REJOICE INSTEAD offers a more comprehensive selection of Hooper’s published work than the rather minimal 1977 Selected Poems––unconstrained by the poet’s judgement, while being aware of his own high standards regarding his work. As editor Pat White notes in his introduction: “Peter was a harsh critic of his own work and, as most poets do, channelled a particular thread of those works he held dear.” REJOICE INSTEAD includes most of the poems from the slim volumes of poetry that were published in Hooper’s lifetime and are no longer easily accessible, along with thirty-nine previously unpublished poems written in the last years of his life. "It is a world-sized, world-shaped book, a ‘tremendous room’ in its generosity and breadth." ––Gregory O’Brien