Abandoned Novel wins Poet $65 000

Abandoned Novel wins Poet $65 000

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VUP author David Beach was presented with a $65,000 cheque in Wellington on Saturday 15 March, as winner of the biennial Prize in Modern Letters. His first collection of poetry, cheekily called Abandoned Novel, was published by Victoria University Press in 2006 and is the book that made David eligible for the Prize which is awarded to emerging NZ writers with one book but no more than two.

That a book of poems can win a $65,000 prize makes me feel as if I've stumbled into a parallel universe where poetry is considered important. David Beach

Abandoned Novel received much praise from the critics on publication and it is a witty, wry collection full of hard-edged exuberance.

Collectively, the poems in this volume stake out new territory in contemporary New Zealand poetry and make a powerful case for further exploration.
Hugh Roberts THE LISTENER

...this is a rewarding first book.
Hamesh Wyatt OTAGO DAILY TIMES

By the end of the collection and yes I did sit down (well no actually I was walking home) and read it from cover to cover, David Beach is on your side, or you are on his, or you're both fighting the world's fights together. The point is you have a new comrade.
THE LUMIERE READER

ENDS

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