Alistair Te Ariki Campbell
ONZM
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...
(25 June 1925 – 16 August 2009) was a poet, playwright, and novelist. Born in the
Cook Islands
)
, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, lan ...
, he was the son of a Cook Island Māori mother and a
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
father, who both died when he was young, leading to him growing up in a New Zealand orphanage. He became a prolific poet and writer, with a lyrical and romantic style tempered by a darkness borne out of his difficult childhood and struggles with mental health as a young adult. Although he wrote about Māori culture from his earliest works, after a revelatory return to the Cook Islands in 1976, his later works increasingly featured
Pasifika Pasifika may refer to:
*Pacific Islander people, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands
**Pasifika New Zealanders, Pacific peoples living in New Zealand
*Pacific islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia
*The Pasifika Festival, an an ...
culture and themes. He received a number of notable awards during his lifetime including the
New Zealand Book Award for Poetry
The Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry is an award at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, presented annually to the winner of the poetry category. The winner receives a 10,000 prize.
History
The New Zealand Book Awards were set up by the New Z ...
and
Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, and is considered one of New Zealand's foremost poets as well as a pioneer of Pasifika literature written in English.
Early life and career
![Alistair and William Campbell, 1933 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Alistair_and_William_Campbell%2C_1933_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Campbell was born in
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...
, on 25 June 1925, and spent his early years on
Penrhyn atoll
Penrhyn (also called Tongareva, Māngarongaro, Hararanga, and Te Pitaka) is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. The northernmost island in the group, it is located at north-north-east of the capital ...
or Tongareva. His mother, Teu Bosini, was
Cook Island Māori
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* ...
, and his father, John Archibald (Jock) Campbell, was a
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
New Zealander of Scottish descent. His father was a former
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
soldier who worked on the island as a successful trader.
In 1932, when Campbell was seven, his mother died from what may have been
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. The following year, his father also died after becoming an alcoholic. Campbell was sent with his younger brother, Bill, to live with their grandmother in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, in the South Island of New Zealand. She already had care of their two older siblings. She was however unable to cope with the four children given the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and sent the children to an
orphanage
An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
in 1934, where Campbell spent the next six years.
In later life, he said that he did not remember the years after his father's death due to his grief.
Although he spoke little English at the time of the move to New Zealand, he quickly learnt, and found the books in the orphanage to be a refuge from his feelings of abandonment.
He attended
Otago Boys' High School, where he did well academically and in sports, but experienced racism from other students due to his Cook Island heritage. He began writing poetry around this time.
He studied first at the
University of Otago and then attended
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well know ...
off and on between 1944 and 1952, while working various menial jobs to support himself.
His oldest brother, Stuart, was killed while serving with the
Māori Battalion in Italy in 1945.
At the University of Otago he became good friends with
James K. Baxter
James Keir Baxter (29 June 1926 – 22 October 1972) was a New Zealand poet and playwright. He was also known as an activist for the preservation of Māori culture. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known and controversial literary figures. H ...
, another famous New Zealand poet. In 1949 his poem "The Elegy" was published in
''Landfall'', marking his first significant publication. It was dedicated to his friend Roy Dickson who had died in a mountaineering accident in 1947, having previously accompanied Campbell on trips to central Otago.
The poem was set to music by his friend, composer
Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Gordon Lilburn (2 November 19156 June 2001) was a New Zealand composer.
Early life
Lilburn was born in Whanganui and spent his early years on the family sheep farm in the upper Turakina River valley at Drysdale. He attended Waitaki Bo ...
, in 1951. He became a part of the
Wellington Group
The Wellington Group or Wellington School was a group of poets who worked and lived in and around Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, in the 1950s and 1960s.
History
The movement started with Louis Johnson, who started up the ''Poetry Yearbo ...
in the 1950s, a group of poets who saw themselves as having a different perspective to
Allen Curnow
Thomas Allen Monro Curnow (17 June 1911 – 23 September 2001) was a New Zealand poet and journalist.
Life
Curnow was born in Timaru, New Zealand, the son of a fourth generation New Zealander, an Anglican clergyman, and he grew up in a relig ...
, another notable New Zealand poet, and through this group became friends with
James K. Baxter
James Keir Baxter (29 June 1926 – 22 October 1972) was a New Zealand poet and playwright. He was also known as an activist for the preservation of Māori culture. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known and controversial literary figures. H ...
and others. In this time he was a founder and editor of two literary magazines, ''Hilltop'' and ''Arachne''.
Literary career
Campbell's first poetry collection, ''Mine Eyes Dazzle'', was published in 1950.
It was the first book published by the Pegasus Press, and was reprinted in 1951 and 1956.
The first part of the book was his poem "The Elegy", and it also featured love poems about unattainable and beautiful women; the title of the book combined both themes, having been taken from a line in ''
The Duchess of Malfi
''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, ...
'': "Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle; she died young".
His writing was known for being lyrical and romantic in style, if somewhat dark,
and his early poetry did not mention his Cook Islands heritage.
In 1953 he graduated from Victoria with a Bachelor of Arts, and the following year he obtained a teaching diploma from
Wellington Teachers' College
Wellington College of Education (formerly Wellington Teachers' Training College) was established in 1888 with the purpose of educating teachers in New Zealand. It became the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, formed from th ...
.
In 1952 he married his first wife, the poet
Fleur Adcock
Fleur Adcock (born 10 February 1934) is a New Zealand poet and editor, of English and Northern Irish ancestry, who has lived much of her life in England. She is well-represented in New Zealand poetry anthologies, was awarded an honorary doc ...
; they had two sons but divorced six years later.
The two remained on good terms in later years.
After obtaining his teaching diploma, Campbell taught for a short period at
Newtown School Newtown School may refer to:
* Newtown School, Waterford
Newtown School is a multidenominational, coeducational independent school with both day and boarding pupils in Waterford, Ireland. It is run by a Board of Management, but owned by the Re ...
in Wellington, and subsequently became the editor of the ''
New Zealand School Journal
The ''New Zealand School Journal'' is a periodical children's educational publication in New Zealand. Founded in 1907 by the Department of Education, it is one of the world's longest-running publications for children. Since 2013 it has been pub ...
'' from 1955 to 1972.
He married his second wife,
Aline Margaret (Meg) Anderson, in 1958; she was a young actress who would later become a poet herself, and they had a son and two daughters together.
In 1961 they moved to
Pukerua Bay
Pukerua Bay is a small seaside suburb at the southern end of the Kapiti Coast, New Zealand. In local government terms it is the northernmost suburb of Porirua City, in the Wellington Region. It is 12 km north of the Porirua City Centre on ...
near Wellington, and would live there for the rest of their lives.
In the same year he wrote a novel for children, ''The Happy Summer'' (1961).
![Alistair Te Ariki Campbell Wellington Writers Walk (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Alistair_Te_Ariki_Campbell_Wellington_Writers_Walk_%28cropped%29.jpg)
During his early working life Campbell experienced some mental breakdowns as he recovered from his childhood experiences, and his wife also suffered from severe post-natal depression.
These experiences led him to turn to writing and explore his troubles in poetry; in a 1969 interview he said: "It was almost as if the springs of creativity had become iced over ... my nervous breakdown cracked the ice and allowed the spring to flow once more."
He was also inspired by New Zealand's history, with a sequence in the collection ''Sanctuary of Spirits'' (1963) featuring narration by the nineteenth-century
Ngāti Toa leader
Te Rauparaha.
In 2001 the sequence was adapted into a ballet and performed as part of the Kapiti Arts Festival. His third collection, ''Wild Honey'', was published by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
in 1964.
In addition to some new works, it featured some of his earlier poems revised and rearranged for overseas readers. His biographer Nelson Wattie said of the work that "old poems are blended harmoniously with new, so that, more than a retrospective, ''Wild Honey'' suggests a future for the poet secure on the foundations he had laid and ... a determination to overcome the obstacles his illness had created by stretching the bow between future and past". In 1965 his poem "The Return" was set to music by
Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Gordon Lilburn (2 November 19156 June 2001) was a New Zealand composer.
Early life
Lilburn was born in Whanganui and spent his early years on the family sheep farm in the upper Turakina River valley at Drysdale. He attended Waitaki Bo ...
, and was Lilburn's first major electronic work.
In 1976, a formative experience in Campbell's life occurred when he returned to Tongareva, together with his younger brother Bill, and rediscovered his Polynesian heritage and family.
The trip had been inspired by a letter Campbell had found in the late 1970s, written by his grandfather to Campbell and his siblings in 1933, which expressed love for them and asked them not to forget their family in Tongareva.
He said of the return: "Suddenly, we had a family again. As a long-lost son, I was wept over by old ladies, wailing 'Aue!' I also had the clear sensation my mother was there, waiting."
From this trip onwards he used his full name, Alistair Te Ariki Campbell. The middle name "Te Ariki" was part of his birth name and meant that his family
was of high rank. He had stopped using the name after his move to New Zealand. His Polynesian heritage, which he had begun exploring in the 1960s, from then on became central to his writing and poetry. His 1980 collection, ''The Dark Lord of Savaiki'', focussed on his ancestors through his mother's side, in particular his grandfather, and his feelings as he came to terms with his heritage.
In 1984 he wrote a memoir, ''Island to Island'', which traced his life through his childhood in Tongareva and his later return.
From 1972 until 1987 Campbell was the senior editor at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. From 1987 onwards, Campbell wrote full-time.
In addition to his poetry, Campbell also wrote plays such as ''The Suicide'' (1966) and ''When the Bough Breaks'' (1970), edited a radio programme about poetry in 1958, wrote a trilogy of novels (''The Frigate Bird'' (1989), ''Sidewinder'' (1991) and ''Tia'' (1993)), and wrote more novels for children such as ''Fantasy with Witches'' (1998).
He also tutored creative writing, and in the late 1970s, was the President of the
New Zealand PEN Centre
The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN New Zealand Inc.) promotes and protects the interests of New Zealand writers. It was founded as the New Zealand PEN Centre (Poets, Essays and Novelists) in 1934. It broadened its scope and became the New Ze ...
, the New Zealand branch of
PEN International. In 1979 he toured New Zealand with
Sam Hunt,
Hone Tūwhare
Hone Peneamine Anatipa Te Pona Tūwhare (21 October 1922 – 16 January 2008) was a noted Māori people, Māori New Zealand poet. He is closely associated with The Catlins in the Southland region of New Zealand, where he lived for the latter ...
and
Jan Kemp.
Later life and legacy
Campbell wrote about his father's and brother's experiences in wartime in his later life, with the collection ''Gallipoli and Other Poems'' (1999) and a poetic sequence called "Māori Battalion" in 2001. Reviewer
Iain Sharp
Iain Sharp (born 1953 in Glasgow) is a New Zealand poet and critic.
Sharp emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1961, where they settled in Auckland. He studied at Auckland University where he received a doctorate in English in 1982. His ...
wrote that these later works "rank among his strongest work".
Peter Simpson noted that Campbell continued to find "poetry and peace not in repressing his distant past, but in embracing it and exploring it".
After the death of his wife Meg in 2007, Campbell edited a joint collection of their poems called ''It's Love, Isn't It?'' which was published in 2008. It was his final collection; on 16 August 2009 he died in
Wellington Hospital Wellington Hospital might refer to:
* Wellington Hospital, New Zealand, a hospital in Wellington, New Zealand
* Wellington Hospital, London
The Wellington Hospital in St John's Wood, London is the largest private hospital in the United Kingdom, an ...
.
The ''
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online i ...
'' says of Campbell that he was "one of New Zealand's most distinctive poetic voices from the 1950s to the 2000s ... His work, which combined lyricism and darkness, was shaped by an idyllic Rarotongan childhood, early family tragedies, childhood exile to New Zealand, and a transformative return to Polynesia in middle age."
He received many honours and awards during his career, most notably the
New Zealand Book Award for Poetry
The Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry is an award at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, presented annually to the winner of the poetry category. The winner receives a 10,000 prize.
History
The New Zealand Book Awards were set up by the New Z ...
for his ''Collected Poems'' in 1982, the
Creative New Zealand Pacific Islands Artist Award in 1998, an honorary doctorate in literature from Victoria University of Wellington in 1999, and a
Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in 2005.
In the
2005 New Year Honours
New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; and ...
, he was made an Officer of the
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...
. On receiving the award, he said: "This finally justifies all those years that I struggled with my demons and chose the path I am still on. This is my wife Meg's recognition and makes all the sacrifices worthwhile."
In 2016 his ''Collected Poems'' were published by
Victoria University Press, with
Robert Sullivan noting in the foreword that "Campbell's dual Polynesian and Pākehā heritage makes him a foreparent of bicultural and multicultural writing in Aotearoa".
Other New Zealand writers like
Albert Wendt
Albert Tuaopepe Wendt (born 27 October 1939) is a Samoan poet and writer who lives in New Zealand. He is one of the most influential writers in Oceania. His notable works include ''Sons for the Return Home'', published in 1973 (adapted into a ...
have cited him as an influence. In April 2020 New Zealand prime minister
Jacinda Ardern recorded a reading of his poem "Gallipoli Peninsula" as part of
Anzac Day
, image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg
, caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary.
, observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...
commemorations for
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
.
Selected works
Poetry
* 1950: ''Mine Eyes Dazzle: Poems 1947–49'', Christchurch: Pegasus Press
* 1951: ''Mine Eyes Dazzle: Pegasus New Zealand Poets 1'', Christchurch: Pegasus Press ("With a Foreword by James K. Baxter")
* 1956: ''Mine Eyes Dazzle'', Christchurch: Pegasus Press ("New Revised Edition")
* 1963: ''Sanctuary of Spirits'', Wellington: Wai-te-ata Press
* 1964: ''Wild Honey'', London: Oxford University Press
* 1967: ''Blue Rain: Poems'', Wellington: Wai-te-ata Press
* 1972: ''Kapiti: Selected Poems 1947–71'', Christchurch: Pegasus Press
* 1975: ''Dreams, Yellow Lions'', Martinborough: Alister Taylor
* 1980: ''The Dark Lord of Savaiki: Poems'', Pukerua Bay: Te Kotare Press
* 1981: ''Collected Poems 1947–1981'', Martinborough: Alister Taylor
* 1985: ''Soul Traps'', Pukerua Bay: Te Kotare Press
* 1992: ''Stone Rain: The Polynesian Strain'', Christchurch: Hazard Press
* 1995: ''Death and the Tagua'', Wellington: Wai-te-ata Press
* 1996: ''Pocket Collected Poems'', Christchurch: Hazard Press
* 1999: ''Gallipoli & Other Poems'', Wellington: Wai-te-ata Press
* 2001: ''Maori Battalion: A Poetic Sequence'', Wellington: Wai-te-ata Press
* 2002: ''Poets in Our Youth: Four Letters in Verse'', being four letters in verse to John Mansfield Thomson,
Harry Orsman
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
,
Pat Wilson
Pat Wilson (born Patricia Mary Higgins; 11 June 1948) is an Australian singer and journalist. Wilson wrote for ''Go-Set'', a 1960s and 1970s pop music newspaper, under the pen-name "Mummy Cool" during 1971–1972. Wilson released several s ...
and
James K. Baxter
James Keir Baxter (29 June 1926 – 22 October 1972) was a New Zealand poet and playwright. He was also known as an activist for the preservation of Māori culture. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known and controversial literary figures. H ...
; Wellington: Pemmican Press
* 2005: ''The Dark Lord of Savaiki: Collected Poems'', Christchurch: Hazard Press
* 2007: ''Just Poetry'', Wellington: HeadworX
* 2008: ''It's Love, Isn't It?'' (with Meg Campbell), Wellington: HeadworX
* 2016: ''The Collected Poems of Alistair Te Ariki Campbell'', Wellington: Victoria University Press
Other work
* 1961: ''The Happy Summer'', a novel for children
* 1965: ''The Proprietor'', Radio play
* 1964: ''The Homecoming'', a radio play
* 1966: ''The Suicide'', a radio play
* 1970: ''When the Bough Breaks'', a radio play
* 1984: ''Island to Island'', memoir
* 1989: ''The Frigate Bird'', novel, regional finalist for the
Commonwealth Writers Prize
Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...
* 1991: ''Sidewinder'', novel, Auckland: Reed Books
* 1993: ''Tia'', novel, Auckland: Reed Books
* 1998: ''Fantasy With Witches'', novel
Notes
External links
Author profileon
Read NZ Te Pou Muramura
Read NZ Te Pou Muramura (formerly the New Zealand Book Council) is a not-for-profit organisation that presents a wide range of programmes to promote books and reading in New Zealand.
History
It was established in 1972 as a response to UNESCO's ...
Biography at the New Zealand Electronic Poetry CentreRecordings of poemsin the
Poetry Archive
''Elegy for Alistair'' short documentary about Campbell's life by his granddaughter Julia Campbell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Alistair Te Ariki
1925 births
2009 deaths
Cook Island Māori people
People from Rarotonga
20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights
New Zealand male poets
New Zealand people of Scottish descent
Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Victoria University of Wellington alumni
20th-century New Zealand novelists
20th-century New Zealand poets
20th-century New Zealand male writers
21st-century New Zealand poets
New Zealand male dramatists and playwrights
21st-century New Zealand male writers
Pukerua Bay Residents