A new poem by Chris Tse. (Turquoise: Art & Magic) Rothko Chapel, January 2014 A room in which my hushed mind was a kaleidoscope waiting for light. I thought about the past year and the absences I allowed to fill me. I thought I’d never rid myself of the intimacy that pained my … Read more
The scamp of New Zealand publishing is laid to rest, for now. In 2005 I wrote and released a book called On the conditions and possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as her Young Lover. I gave myself the name Richard Meros. My real name is Murdoch. Some people think that sounds like a pseudonym, … Read more
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Mermaids When you lose grip and start to drift. The first thing you’re supposed to do is steer into it or steer away? Not all mermaids are royalty someone needs to audit the ocean provide cashflow projections some mermaids are actually middle-aged accountants named Stephen … Read more
A new poem by Michaela Keeble. Only the ocean only the ocean turns me over like this only the ocean turns me on like this only the ocean gives warning: what will change and when so it doesn’t come across like violence white caps drift in on the … Read more
A new poem by Christchurch poet Erik Kennedy. There Is a Man Dancing on the Rudder of an Enormous Cargo Ship having arrived as part of a protest flotilla of kayaks and inflatables and paddleboards, a semi-cohesive squadron of possibility and guerrilla tactics that are half surprise party, half interview with the parole … Read more
A new poem by Auckland-based writer and performer Hadassah Grace. Subject Permanence in quarantine mirrors reminded us we exist with eyes closed, skin is still cotton candy in a puddle bones, watercolour and damp paper arms and teeth are curtains on fire now every gleaming shop window is a gleaning mother did … Read more
New work by Wellington poet Jackson Nieuwland. I am a tree. I spend most of my time standing in the forest with my family. They love nothing more than to stand absolutely still like a plank of wood, only waving their arms every now and then to make sure there’s enough wind for the birds … Read more
A poem by Hamilton writer Mere Taito. The quickest way to trap a folktale a research institution walks into a village scholarly clothes sharp alien tools fine-spun birthmarks flow out of a magic twig … Read more
A new poem by Ockham finalist Steven Toussaint. from The Reproaches Confusion isn’t mystery. Oblivion and mastery, but never At the same time. Abide in me. Fustian bargain to render silence clever. Ignatian composition Spoiled by an app’s trill, my fontanelle Closed and with it one grace-receptive station. So I rode my bike … Read more
A poem by Ockham finalist Anne Kennedy. from ‘Thirty-Three Transformations on a Theme of Philip’ 32 The present pulls the plug on the present moment by moment Hands fly to the black tiles like pigeons to a rooftop The objects in the room join a passing train The thoughts in the room … Read more
A new poem by Palmerston North poet Tim Upperton. At the Fair All these people had come to an outdoor fair. They were walking from one stall to another, inspecting the goods for sale, picking up a jar of quince jelly and holding it to the light, tipping it sideways to test the … Read more
A new poem by Vincent O’Sullivan. Once Once in my life I’ve been fishing. A brother- in-law assured, ‘You don’t need to talk out there,’ so we didn’t. After an hour or so he lifted this reluctant silvery strip from its hook and walloped its head against the ridge of the … Read more
A new poem by Wellington poet and bookseller Ash Davida Jane. washed up! it gets tiring pushing the fire alarm every night but things keep catching on fire or … Read more
A poem by Wellington poet Jenny Bornholdt. Finance City bracketed by snow woollens airborne in the hall. Starved, our animal selves tore grass from the lawn, bark from the trees, trotted to where our children gnawed the bones of animals smaller than themselves. Was this the end of the world? Of childhood? … Read more
A poem by Wellington writer Kate Camp. There is no easy way This is the way you will travel through the world on feet, on arrangements of bones and body parts. You will be standing on top of your shoes. You will be walking inside the lining of your coat and your … Read more
A new poem by Wellington poet Sam Duckor-Jones. Reading time: Approximately 10 minutes. Party Legend Vote for me / I’m from a very distinguished flame / I attended a school for gifted merchandise / Yet this is also an everyman’s story / I have a very relatable familiar regular story / Sure … Read more
A new poem by Island Bay poet James Brown. Insulation My barber says that people no longer being able to afford houses is a no-brainer opportunity. He turns on the tele. Cue the leafy suburbs. Cue the dawn chorus. The tent of realty is specially crafted to respond to inequity. Its breathable fabric repels applicants … Read more
A new poem by Palmerston North poet Katrina Upperton. Howl I Buy the biggest jacket you can find and let your synapses back up till the machine fails, pick at your sparking fingers. Check out that Robocop radiator: the wiring is something you would not believe. C’mon, man, think: you’ll never get the … Read more
A new poem by Wellington writer Laura Vincent. Anecdotal happiness There was a story on the six o’clock news “Scientists have discovered that only bad things are happening now It seems nothing good will happen on a grand scale ever again” In their carefully region-free accent the newsreader continued: “Experts are still working … Read more
A new poem by Sydney poet Catherine Vidler. apart from pink sun, sun pink from apart apart from pink sun, apart from all-dying grass, cloud-fuzz, brown-tinged, stretched virtual-zero, stones exposed, thirsty cracks, dry fountains, domestic courtyards aghast, this mix, dirty, dirtier, despair worn sharp-casual, this peculiar view, eerie light-lurking, apricot shapes … Read more
Presenting: the fourth and final instalment in our best-of-the-year series, put together by the Spinoff and various benevolent elves. This time it’s poetry, and there was a lot of it this year, so it was extremely difficult to choose just ten titles. These are just a handful of the poetry collections that moved us, that … Read more
A new poem by Whanganui poet Airini Beautrais. Swingball We’ll rent a holiday home at the beach with all of our children, seven to twenty-seven and everyone will feel enthusiastic. We’ll take towels and sunblock, food and other necessities: board games, insect repellent, beer, a pop-up tent, a swingball set. My children … Read more
A poem by writer, journalist, and former Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani. Forgive me my love Translated by Moones Mansoubi, Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, 2018 Forgive me my bird as I am not able to embrace you. But here, in this corner, I know some migrating birds that I smile to at dawn. … Read more
A new poem by Harry Ricketts. The Writing Life You want to write. You want to be published. You want to be read. You want to be a cult figure. You want to be reviewed. You want to write. You want to win prizes. You want to be anthologised. You want … Read more
The reading and writing ecosystem in NZ is broken – and I blame myself and other writers of my generation who have not fought for its patch, writes Lloyd Jones. I was in Christchurch last week when a friend said excitedly, “I have to take you to the new city library. It is magnificent.” Now … Read more
A new poem by Kai Tahu writer and musician Ruby Solly. Six Feet For a Single, Eight Feet For a Double My father leaves school to dig graves. The first break is the hardest. The pressure of foot on steel, the smell of earth rising. Koia koia, e tau e koia. The men … Read more
On the 40th anniversary of the Erebus disaster, a poem by Bill Manhire. Erebus Voices The Mountain I am here beside my brother, Terror. I am the place of human error. I am beauty and cloud, and I am sorrow; I am tears which you will weep tomorrow. I am the sky and … Read more
All week this week the Spinoff Review of Books revisits the great poet James K Baxter, on the occasion of a new book of letters. Today: CK Stead remembers Baxter, in this extract taken from his memoir in progress, South-East of Everywhere. Early in 1966 the Otago University Students’ Association invited me to Dunedin. I was to be there for … Read more
All week this week we revisit the great poet James K Baxter on the occasion of a new book of his letters. Today: a selection of the letters written in 1969, dealing with his experiences at the Jerusalem commune in Whanganui, and a crash-pad in Grafton in Auckland. To Robin Dudding, Christchurch Dear Bob, After the middle … Read more