Blog

What is extreme old age like?

July 13, 2022

My out-of-control mouth proposed a new analogy for extreme old age. (No surprise from an old poet.) Think of an episodic political play.

Launching a book without the author

July 12, 2022

How do you launch a book without any input from the author? That was a novel challenge for the publisher, because normally the author is the star of the launch. Poet and artist Jan Fitzgerald was unable to participate even virtually, so Mary McCallum of Cuba Press cooked up another plan. She invited fellow poets […]

The cat in the cupboard

July 11, 2022

Where is the cat? In a cupboard? Why is the cat in a cupboard? Or another safe and secret place?

Waist not, want not—reframing fat in the middle

June 28, 2022

Once I had a waist. Now I don’t have a waist, and I am programmed to perceive that as ugly. Why must we hate our new shape? Why must we struggle for the impossible?

Matariki: old Maori tradition, new public holiday

June 25, 2022

At last we officially celebrate the traditional Maori new year, Matariki, with a public holiday. This is a huge event for Aotearoa.