20 February 2008: Poetry meets the people with Hawke's Bay staging a poetry double-act this weekend.
In what will be a unique cultural experience, the region will host two major events to welcome the first government-sponsored New Zealand Poet Laureate, Michele Leggott, and pay tribute to previous poet laureate, the late Hone Tuwhare.
The Poet Laureate Award is administered by the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa which, in partnership with Ngati Kahungunu and the local community, is proud to play its part in promoting poetry in the community.
Saturday February 23, Matahiwi Marae, Clive, 10am-2pm
Ngati Hawea will host a formal presentation at Matahiwi Marae, Clive, at which VIPs including the Hon Judith Tizard, Minister Responsible for the National Library, will be in attendance.
The matua tokotoko, a ceremonial carved stick created by renowned carver Jacob Scott, will be presented to Poet Laureate Michele Leggott. The National Library will care for the tokotoko in perpetuity.
Lunch and Poetry at the Pa will follow. This is will be an opportunity to hear Michele Leggott, previous poets laureate and all those who wish to speak, pay tribute to the acclaimed Hone Tuwhare.
Saturday February 23, Opera House in Hastings, 8pm-10pm
The Opera House in Hastings is the venue for an evening of poetic panache: I Say Te Mata: Poets at the Assembly Room. Michele Leggott and Keith Thorsen will co-host the event, which will feature well-known New Zealand poets including previous Te Mata poet laureate Elizabeth Smither along with Murray Edmond, Brian Flaherty, Paula Green, Rowley Habib, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Helen Sword and Jack Ross. A selection of young Hawke's Bay talent will provide a peek into the region's poetic future.
This is an unmissable opportunity for the public to hear and meet some of our most celebrated bards.
Tickets are still available at $25 and can be ordered through Creative Hastings, 106 Russell Street South, telephone (06) 878 9447, fax 06 878 9835, email artcentre@clear.net.nz.
Background: about Michele Leggott
An Associate Professor of English at the University of Auckland, Michele has published six books of poetry and edited five anthologies of poetry and criticism. Her first collection, Like This?, won the PEN First Best Book of Poetry in 1989; Dia (Auckland University Press, 1994) won the 1995 NZ Book Award for Poetry. Her most recent volume, Journey to Portugal, a collaboration with the artist Gretchen Albrecht, was published by the Department of English's Holloway Press. Michele is also the founding director of the NZ Electronic Poetry Centre http://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz, an important international and national digital resource for poets, schools, universities and the reading public.
For more information
National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa
Serene Ambler, Communications Adviser
Email serene.ambler@natlib.govt.nz
Phone (04) 474 3092
