NZ Poetry Shelf

We vote for peace, as we speak and sing with grief
We vote for earth, as we plant clean waters and seeds of hope

Paula Gree...

A Day Like No Other: Selected Poems, James Norcliffe
Otago University Press, 2026

Treatment
for Ted Pearson

the clouds are moving
with surpri...

Event by Miri LB and

Opoutere Nest Song

Sky and water, quiet
sand. Little whistle
that gets up and goes.

Bill Manhire
from My Sunshine, VUP, 1996, and Collected Poems, VUP, 2001

Paula’s note: This poem resonates so acutely for me. I am transported to Te Henga Bethells Beach ...

Gap in My CV

I had this belt buckle with a picture of Karl Marx’s face on it. It was a real talking point, let me tell you. A big brass depiction of the beardy philosopher around my waist while I was in the supermarket, in the street, at the garden centre, drawing people’s eyes to me and making them think of the great currents of history.