New Writer in Residence to Explore Poetry and Music in 2016

New Writer in Residence to Explore Poetry and Music in 2016

American-born poet Steven Toussaint has been appointed as the University of Waikato’s Writer in Residence for 2016 and he intends to devote the year to completing his third book of poetry.

“I hope to expand upon much of the work I took up during the course of my PhD, specifically my studies into musical composition, theory, and history,” says Mr Toussaint.

“I am deeply interested in what emerges from the collusion of poetry and music, what it suggests about duration – our experience of time passing – and the significance of repetition. I am excited to start the year with a quiet room, a broad desk, and a library card,” he says.

Taking up the position in January, Mr Toussaint plans to dive initially into some of Olivier Messiaen’s organ works to see what he might draw from them.

“For me, there’s always a great deal of research and sketching before the poems start to come together. I also hope to allocate some time to critical writing, specifically on the intersections between poetry, religion, and music,” he says.

Mr Toussaint immigrated to New Zealand with his partner in 2010 after graduating from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In addition to numerous publications in literary journals, he has published a chapbook Fiddlehead with Auckland-based outfit Compound Press in 2014, and his first full-length collection of poems The Bellfounder was published in 2015 by American publisher The Cultural Society. He completed a PhD at the International Institute of Modern Letters in 2015.

The University of Waikato Writer in Residence is jointly funded by the University and Creative New Zealand. The position is open to poets, novelists, short story writers, dramatists, and writers of serious non-fiction.

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