Australian Publisher Takes New Zealand Poetry On The Road

Australian Publisher Takes New Zealand Poetry On The Road

A lot of New Zealanders will be waiting eagerly for the Rugby World Cup final. For two Wellington-region poets, the final whistle at Eden Park will mean that their own road trip is about to begin.

Australian publisher Interactive Publications is publishing two books by New Zealand poets in October. One is the debut collection by Lower Hutt poet Keith Westwater, "Tongues of Ash", which won "Best First Book" in the 2011 IP Picks competition. (Keith shared the prizes with 4 Aussies.) The other is "Men Briefly Explained", the third poetry collection from Wellington poet Tim Jones, who won the New Zealand Society of Authors Janet Frame Memorial Award for Literature in 2010.

The two Kiwi poets will be joined on the tour by Dr David Reiter, the publisher of Interactive Publications, who is himself a noted Australian poet. He will be reading from his new collection "My Planets".

"I'll have to make sure I don't give the referees too much verbal advice during the Rugby World Cup," Keith Westwater says, "as I want to make sure my voice is in good form for the readings."

For Tim Jones, this will be his second book tour with Interactive Publications, following the successful tour for "Voyagers: Science Fiction Poetry from New Zealand" in 2009. "We had an excellent time on that tour," Tim says, "and I'm grateful to Interactive Publications for being prepared to support New Zealand poetry in this way. I made some great friendships on that tour, and I am looking forward to renewing those, and making some new friends as well."

Details of the tour are as follows:

Dunedin: Tuesday, 25 October, Circadian Rhythm Café, 72 St Andrew Street, 8pm Christchurch: Wednesday, 26 October, CPIT, Madras Street, 5:30pm Wellington: Thursday, 27 October, Wellington Central Library, 5:30 for 6pm Lower Hutt: Friday, 28 October, Rona Gallery/Bookshop, Eastbourne, 6pm Auckland: Tuesday 1 November, Poetry Live, Thirsty Dog, 469 Karangahape Road, 8pm

"There is only one thing that worries me," Tim Jones says. "If the All Blacks win the World Cup, everything should be sweet. But if Australia should happen to win ... well, with an Australian publisher accompanying us, Keith and I might have to invest in some earplugs."

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