Alan Mervyn Brunton (14 October 1946 – 27 June 2002) was a New Zealand poet and playwright.

Biography

Brunton was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and educated at

Hamilton Boys' High School Hamilton Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand and is the largest secondary school in the Waikato region. The school was established as Hamilton High School in 1911 but was later split into separate boys' and gi ...

, the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and

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 ...

. He was founding editor of Freed, and in 1970 Brunton moved to Europe and Asia, publishing Messengers in Blackface (1973, London). From 1974 to 1978 he co-founded an experimental theatre group, Red Mole with his partner Sally Rodwell. He co-edited

Spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

1976–77. He lived his latter years at

Island Bay Island Bay is a coastal suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, situated south of the city centre. Island Bay lies on the bay which shares its name, one of numerous small bays off Cook Strait and west of Lyall Bay. 500m offshore in ...

, a suburb of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. He died in Amsterdam in 2002 during a visit to Europe.

Works

Alan Brunton's work was interwoven between his poetry and theatre. He performed as part of the troupe in Red Mole in many venues including in the 1970s Carmen's Balcony in Wellington, New Zealand. Carmen's Balcony was a notorious nightclub run by

Carmen Rupe Carmen Rupe (10 October 1936 – 14 December 2011), was a New Zealand drag performer, brothel keeper, anti-discrimination activist, would-be politician and HIV/AIDS activist. Carmen Rupe was New Zealand's first drag queen to reach celebrity st ...

. His colleague Arthur Baysting was performing there too and says of his work: "Alan’s political eye could be sharp and droll: “the vaudeville king of politics is calling names again on the radio … how much gin does He drink in a day?” (''Sally’s Turn to Talk''). On a good night, in the face of drunken calls for the live rock band or topless dancers, he could silence the packed crowds with a tender, softly spoken love song." *''Black & White Anthology (1976).'' A 33-part sequence with an Asian setting *''Oh Ravachol (1978).'' Red Mole *''And She Said'' ''(1984)''. Red Mole *''New Order'' ''(1986)''. Red Mole *''Red Mole, a Sketchbook''. ISBN/SKU: 9780864730930 *''Beyond the Oh La La Mountains (2014).'' Poems 1968–2002. Titus Books. 2014 *''Ecstasy (2001).'' A collection of poems for the new millennium. Bumper Books. Brunton has also edited and co-edited a number of publications.

References

External links

*Alan Brunton at AudioCultur

*Alan Brunton on the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Website curated by Michelle Leggot

*Alan Brunton on the New Zealand Book Council website author descriptio

1946 births 2002 deaths New Zealand male poets 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights 20th-century New Zealand poets 20th-century New Zealand male writers New Zealand male dramatists and playwrights University of Auckland alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni {{NewZealand-writer-stub