poetry Archives - Phantom Billstickers

12 Aug 2019

Tayi Tibble Q & A

By Jono Cole

“There are actually so many dope poets in New Zealand it’s literally disproportionate as well as a national mystery”

Why do you think poetry is so hot right now?

Because Megan Thee Stallion declared 2019 the year of the hot girl summer and Gigi and Bella Hadid were recently seen accessorizing their hot fits with Stephen King paperbacks. Also because poets have iphones now instead of typewriters which means we can also get on instagram and twitter, and share each other’s work dotted with cute emojis between re-tweets of Kim Kardashian’s face like it’s popular, and then it becomes popular, because life imitates art.

We grow up with poetry in our lives. How does poetry shape us?

I think it shapes most people to hate poetry because Byron, Tennyson, Whitman are alienating and irrelevant to the modern skux, unless you’re a nerd born with bookish predisposition like me. I was a lucky nerd tho, I encountered Hone Tuwhare and Apirana Taylor poems in Intermediate school which certainly shaped me, as I discovered that there were at least two indigenous voices in poetry and New Zealand Literature. Young and ignorant and naive as I was then I thought, perhaps I could be the third.

How can poetry break its ‘hierarchical chains’ and reach new communities?

I reckon instead of supporting me to write a follow up book, CNZ should finesse me an artist development deal with a major record label and a sick producer like, Timberland or Charli XCX and then I’ll make some dirty south(ern hempisphere) trap-poetry with bars like ‘before you try and come for me/open a book and learn to read/ because I’m literary e hoa!” which will break records as well as hierarchical chains, reaching new communities by way of making something that lil skuxes can whip to.

Who are some NZ poets you think more people should be reading?

There are actually so many dope poets in New Zealand it’s literally disproportionate as well as a national mystery but the poets who consistently keep me in a creative state of productive jealousy include Hana Pera Aoake and Talia Marshall.

05 Aug 2019

Helen Heath Q & A

By Phantom

” …I want people to feel they are not alone.”

Why do you think poetry is so hot right now?

Is poetry ever hot? Haha, I always feel like Poetry is the emo cousin hiding in the corner while Fiction is the cool kid in the room. I guess Hera Lindsay Bird is one reason and platforms like Instagram and Youtube along with slam events are another. It is certainly easier to find ‘your people’ now on the internet than it was in Lower Hutt in the 80s, for example.

We grow up with poetry in our lives. How does poetry shape us?

It’s something many people turn to at significant moments in their lives, such as weddings or funerals. However, I think many people feel like poetry is some kind of cruel trick that English teachers taunted them with at school. My hope is that people can get past that and find personal resonance and meaning or just humour and delight. Mostly I want people to feel they are not alone.

How can poetry break its ‘hierarchical chains’ and reach new communities?

I don’t think poetry has really had ‘hierarchical chains’ for a long time. It just gets bad press from people who hated poetry in school.

Who are some NZ poets you think more people should be reading?

Maria McMillan, Helen Lehndorf, Helen Rickerby and Vana Manasiades are great – have a read!

02 Aug 2019

Therese Lloyd Q & A

By Phantom

“Poetry has a magic and heft to it that other writing doesn’t.”

Why do you think poetry is so hot right now?

At the moment, the major university presses and some of the smaller presses are doing a brilliant job of publishing fresh and dynamic work. It seems like there’s more risk taking amongst both poets and publishers and that definitely makes for exciting reading!

We grow up with poetry in our lives. How does poetry shape us?

There’s a reason people always want poems read at weddings and funerals. Even people who never read poetry have a need for it. Poetry has a magic and heft to it that other writing doesn’t. For me, I think I was shaped by poetry sonically before anything else. The rhythms and sounds of words were what drew me to poetry when I was young, even before the content.

How can poetry break its ‘hierarchical chains’ and reach new communities?

I think it’s kind of funny that poetry is still so often perceived as fiction’s difficult, awkward cousin. Poets all know that that’s not the case of course, but old ideas take a long time to shift. I wonder if those hierarchical chains are symptomatic of bigger issues? I blame capitalism. There you go, smash capitalism, that’s the answer!

Who are some NZ poets you think more people should be reading?

Tracey Slaughter, Michael Steven, Stephanie Christie, Anahera Gildea, Amy Brown.

31 Jul 2019

Erik Kennedy Q & A

By Phantom

“…people are realising that our frantic-paced, growth-obsessed, world-destroying capitalist society is failing to nurture us, and poetry allows us to slow down, reassess, and repair.”

Why do you think poetry is so hot right now?

I like to think that poetry is having a moment now because people are realising that our frantic-paced, growth-obsessed, world-destroying capitalist society is failing to nurture us, and poetry allows us to slow down, reassess, and repair. (But maybe people just like stuff that sounds good and poets are far better at performing their work than they used to be. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

We grow up with poetry in our lives. How does poetry shape us?

Poetry shapes us to the degree to which we let it. We soften ourselves to take its impression. This process of self-softening, this plasticity, is probably more important (from an individual’s perspective) than poetry itself.

*Eric Kennedy Web by Victoria Birkenshaw 2018*

How can poetry break its ‘hierarchical chains’ and reach new communities?

I suspect that there will always be artistic hierarchies, not least because ‘outsiders’ exclude too when they start to attain influence. The key is to have multiple centres of activity, multiple modes of practice, and poets who actually read each other even if they’re not friends. In the context of this country’s poetry, I think the literary culture would have to be a lot less Wellington-centric than it is now if the existing hierarchies were to be truly challenged.

Who are some NZ poets you think more people should be reading?

I’ll just unleash some names. Lynley Edmeades. James Norcliffe. Nick Ascroft. Paula Harris. David Gregory. I don’t think enough people read Ashleigh Young as a poet (she’s obviously read by all and sundry as an essayist). I’ve liked every Freya Daly Sadgrove poem I’ve read, and I assume that a collection will be materialising sometime in the future. And read Rebecca Nash’s new stuff (or hear it live if it’s not published yet)!

25 May 2016

The Phantom Billstickers Cafe Reader Vol 10 – Out and About

By Phantom Billstickers

Ashley at Red Rock Cafe and Bar, Queenstown

Okra Espresso Lounge, Auckland

Havana Bar, Wellington

Southern Cross, Wellington

Sweet Mother’s Kitchen, Wellington

University Bookshop, Dunedin

Morning Magpie, Dunedin

Gavin Shaw, DIVO – Dunedin’s Needle Exchange
Gavin was a contributor for Cafe Reader Vol 9 and has been very active in the literary and music circles in Dunedin. He plays bass in the band Psychic Maps.

Tenzin Mullins, Dunedin
Tenzin is a musician and academic who plays bass in the bands MARINEVILLE and The David Lynch Mob. He is also a member of HEKA with Stephen Kilory and ex-SUKA bandmate, Heath Te Au.

poetry

Viewing posts tagged poetry

Tayi Tibble Q & A

Helen Heath Q & A

Therese Lloyd Q & A

Erik Kennedy Q & A

The Phantom Billstickers Cafe Reader Vol 10 – Out and About

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

Older Posts