Enamel Roundup

There have been another couple of reviews of Enamel coming through from other blogs around New Zealand. Most notably from my two favourite Helens! (After Aunty Helen that is!)

Helen Rickerby did a lovely wee review. And so did Helen Heath. Helen H. called it a yummy wee number. Thanks Helen and Helen!

I've also noticed a few other people spreading the news through aggregators and other sites about publishing and writing which is very lovely.

Sales are going well on Trade Me. Better than almost anywhere else. So if you haven't gotten a copy yet and you want one go here.

Rewriting WCW

If you know me you'll know that I love This is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams. At the very end of this podcast there are some awesome versions of that poem. Some of them are so good they made my toes curl.

NaPoWriMo

Although it's not poetry month here I'm going to be doing NaPoWriMo again this year. I have a massively full on April so this could either be total genius or punishment! You can see what I'm writing here. I can't promise that it will good. Just that it will be daily.

A review of Enamel

Enamel has received its first review. I'm pleased to read what Tim Jones thinks about Enamel after his first read through.

Thanks Tim!

I'll be at the Poetry Society meeting in Wellington tomorrow (Monday) if anyone is interested in buying a copy from me!

Enamel

Enamel has finally come back from the printers!

If you'd like your copy and you are in New Zealand or Australia you can go here to purchase your copy.

Otherwise email enamel dot editor at gmail dot com and I'll see if I can sort you out!

You can buy a copy for between $10-$15 depending on how you're feeling. The .pdf copy is available for a donation of your specification!

Yay for poetry!

Jennifer Compton

This Monday we went to see Jennifer Compton and Mary McCallum have a conversation with each other at the National Library Auditorium.

I really liked the venue (although I did think Jennifer's mike volume could have been lower, always a critic!) and found the hour long talk to be excellent. I really enjoyed the readings of Jennifer's work, from plays to poems. I also really appreciated her take on writing, which really seems to be her take on life and living it. The line that has stuck with me the most is: Don't be boring! Although, I'm paraphrasing I think. If I was into Oprah I could say it was a light bulb moment. Afterwards someone told me that she sounded pretty negative. I found it hard to agree with that. To me she seemed anything but and in fact made me laugh out loud several times. I only wish I had taken more notes. I did have my computer, and I even considered live blogging. However, I instead chose to enjoy the moment. And I'm glad I did. I was pleased to discover that the poem of Jennifer's I selected for Enamel is an old favourite of hers that hadn't found a home. It felt like a little bit of treasure, hearing the news from her.

I haven't quite got into the groove of writing in Wellington, yet. As I start a new job on Monday I hope I am still able to find the time and inclination. Living here is exciting. It's especially exciting to be a part of books being written and criticism being received etc. I am excited by the prospect of my best friend getting a book published and I will enjoy the process alongside her.

A Missive

Before I left Christchurch in 2004 I had the chance to go along to a Catalyst sponsored reading. It still retains its position as one of the best poetry readings I have ever been to. Catalyst also holds a special place in my little heart, as it was the first NZ publication to print my poetry. The Neoismist people do good work in Canterbury. Here's a little something they're doing for the Christchurch Writers' Festival 08.

Hi all!

A quick message to note the impending release of Catalyst 7: The Original Branch Manual on Saturday 6th September as part of the Christchurch Writers Festival 08. For more details about the project itself please visit our blogsite for the full media release with pictures.

www.catalystnz.blogspot.com

I just wanted to write about the significance of this volume in terms of what Catalyst is trying to achieve. At Neoismist Press we have a very human interest in numbers and their significance as well as patterns in mathematics so we can't resist doing something special for our 7th edition.

Choosing to celebrate all the things we have achieved so far in Catalyst's 5 year history we wanted to represent them in this volume - poetry, visual art, design, spoken word and innovation. So on the occasion of our 5th anniversary and our 7th edition we have chosen to produce another CD volume containing 7 poems + 7 songs and in the accompanying booklet - 7 artists work. The innovation comes in the format of Catalyst 7 - forgoing the book format altogether and opting for a CD/booklet inside a DVD case.

We have long been fans of the quirky innovation of literary journal McSweeneys and have sought to emulate (with a miniscule budget)in some small way this playful approach to publishing Catalyst within New Zealand's literary scene. So far, we have largely been overlooked. Eschewed by arts funders and ignored by the literary press in New Zealand we have quietly continued to innovate and push boundaries all 'on the smell of an oily rag'. We may be small but we are proud. Catalyst was the first literary journal in NZ to commit to releasing CDs of spoken word. The polish and production of the first Spoken Word volume of poetry (accompanying Catalyst 4) drew praise from the music scene and silence from literary circles. However a raft of imitators and clones followed - poetry CD releases from other publications and poetry groups followed including the impressive series from Auckland University Press of Classic NZ Poets in Performance, Contemporary NZ Poets in Performance and lastly New NZ Poets in Performance.

Meanwhile Catalyst continues to quietly agitate in the shadows of such literary collossi. Catalyst 7: The Original Branch Manual once again breaks new ground in shifting it's format. In the first collection of spoken word (Catalyst 4), music was chosen to act as backing for the poets, enhancing and illuminating the delivery of the poem. This time round the exploration of the resonance between poetry and music is by direct contrast of songwriting and poetry. 7 songs were selected based not only on their musical quality but also their lyrical content. By juxtaposing the poems directly next to and overlapping the songs an alchemical reaction seemed to occur. In the words of Doc Drumheller "accidental synergy" even though the songs and poems were composed and written quite independently. The result of this experiment is The Original Branch Manual - Catalyst vol. 7.

And still we struggle to even get a mention in our local papers as well as literary publications. Any support you can give in spreading the word about this project would be an enormous help to us - we appreciate you keeping in touch.

Poetry is free speech - speak freely!

yours literally,

Catalyst.

The Loving Embrace of Aotearoa

On the first night that we were back we crowded into the National Library, along with what felt like most of Wellington. We were all there to see the poet laureates read and talk about their tokotoko. We stood at the back throughout the reading and listened. We couldn't see the poets, but it didn't really matter. And that was it! We were plunged back into Wellington and New Zealand. We were sleep starved after a marathon of cancelled flights and angry passengers. And the poetry was just what we needed.

Now after two weeks of travel around the country we are back in Wellington, permanently. It is good to be home.

P.S. We are down to four poems on the front page as I shuffle them around. Hopefully back to five ASAP.

blueprintreview 17

can literary magazines develop a sense of self? if so, it would only be logical that blueprintreview, at 17, turned physical. and no, it isn't me, the editor, who chooses the issue themes. they develop through incoming submissions, just like adolescents develop their personality through exposure to the world.

bodyscapes, then: flesh. and blood.

also: feathers. and cigarettes. stone. and dust. solitude. and an orgy. a portrait. and a pinup.

blueprintreview has selected another of my poems for their latest issue. It looks to be even better than the last issue if that is possible! Check out my poem here. Thanks again to blueprintreview for selecting my poem!

JAAM 26

I just found out that I'm getting two of my poems published in JAAM 26. I'm very excited about this and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. It will be out sometime in September this year. Tim Jones is the editor for this issue. Thanks Tim!