Bluff poet looks forward to New Zealand Poet Laureate role
Newly appointed New Zealand Poet Laureate, Cilla McQueen has always been fascinated by "how words allow you to put together ideas and images that resonate in another person's mind", so its not surprising to find that a strong interest in languages informs Cilla's poetry.
Living in the small isolated southern community of Bluff is another key factor that shapes her writing. "There’s the sense of being between the sea and land and the relative isolation allows me to think," she says. Cilla is also a huge fan of her local library in Bluff, using its internet and the interloan service of the National Library to help with her research.
Cilla is looking forward to the role of New Zealand Poet Laureate and is pleased with the recognition and knowledge that her poetry has a place in the everyday world. As a widely published writer, and a very popular performer of her poetry, Cilla's work has been much awarded. For the past 20 years, through the NZ Book Council's Writers in Schools programme, she's run sessions with school children from around New Zealand. She enjoys the contact with "lively young minds and lively teachers."
The New Zealand Poet Laureate Award is administered by the National Library of New Zealand and is awarded every two years. The National Library will collect their work and workings, and Te Mata Estate, which previously ran the awards, will provide each poet laureate with a gift of wine.
