''Ōrongohau , Best New Zealand Poems'' is an annual online anthology of poems chosen by guest editors. The anthology began in 2001 and is published by the

International Institute of Modern Letters The International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) ( mi, Te Pūtahi Tuhi Auaha o te Ao) is a centre of creative writing based within Victoria University of Wellington. Founded in 2001, the IIML offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses (i ...

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 ...

in New Zealand. It is supported by a grant from

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

History

In 2001, poet and professor

Bill Manhire William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural New Zealand Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at ...

of the International Institute of Modern Letters founded ''Best New Zealand Poems''. The anthology is published online and features 25 poems from New Zealand poets, each year selected by a different guest editor. Journalist Philip Matthews has described it as "a reliable guide to local poetry". The first annual editor,

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 in his introduction to the 2001 selection that the site's approach was inspired by the ''

The Best American Poetry ''The Best American Poetry'' series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing seventy-five poems. Background The series, begun by poet and editor David Lehman in 1988, has a different guest editor every year. Lehman, still the general ...

'' series. He also noted that the poems must have been published that year either in magazines or books, and that in order to qualify as New Zealand poetry, a "steady association with the country is sufficient". Due to Manhire's association with the anthology and role as series editor, his own poems were originally ineligible for inclusion. In his introduction to the 2005 selection, Andrew Johnston wrote, "I couldn't include a poem from Manhire's latest and best book, ''Lifted'', because he is effectively the publisher of ''Best New Zealand Poems''." In 2011 Manhire stepped down from the series editor role, and his poem "The Schoolbus" was selected by editor

Bernadette Hall Bernadette Hall (born 1945) is a New Zealand playwright and poet. Biography Hall was born in 1945 in Alexandra, New Zealand. She was raised in what she describes as "a small-city Catholic community that was proud, theatrical and pretty much e ...

. In 2003, Shelley Howells, a columnist for ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'', noted the features on the website, including links to publishers, New Zealand literary sites, poet biographies, and poets' comments on their work, provide a "more bang for your verse' approach" that is "more satisfying than simply reading a poem on a page". In 2007, Manhire noted that most of the website's viewers were from overseas, and that the online publication allowed the anthology to break "through the distribution barrier which prevents New Zealand poetry from reaching an international audience".

Annual selections

Unlike ''Best American Poetry'', each year's selection is identified by the year in which the poems were first published, not by the year in which the selection is put out: so the 2001 list, for instance, came out in 2002.

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

The editor,

, is books editor of the Sunday Star-Times and himself a poet and critic. In his introduction, Sharp wrote that although he has a preference for poets like

Billy Collins William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York (retired, 2016). Collins ...

, he tried to include a variety of poets in his selection. Sharp also wrote that he found it impossible to properly excerpt Michael O'Leary's book-length love poem, ''He Waiatanui Kia Aroha'', or take a single poem out of Hone Tuwhare's ''Piggyback Moon'' because none "seemed quite to capture the warm, rebellious spirit of the whole." * James K. Baxter *

Jenny Bornholdt Jennifer Mary Bornholdt (born 1 November 1960) is a New Zealand poet and anthologist. Biography Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism. She studied poetry with Bill Manhire ...

* Bernard Brown *

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

Alan Brunton Alan Mervyn Brunton (14 October 1946 – 27 June 2002) was a New Zealand poet and playwright. Biography Brunton was born in Christchurch and educated at Hamilton Boys' High School, the University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington. ...

Kate Camp Kate Camp (born 1972) is a New Zealand poet and author who currently resides in Wellington. Early life and education Camp was born in 1972 in Wellington, New Zealand. She has a BA in English from the Victoria University of Wellington. Career ...

Alistair Te Ariki Campbell Alistair Te Ariki Campbell ONZM (25 June 1925 – 16 August 2009) was a poet, playwright, and novelist. Born in the Cook Islands, he was the son of a Cook Island Māori mother and a Pākehā father, who both died when he was young, leading to h ...

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 ...

Leigh Davis Leigh Robert Davis (20 June 1955 – 3 October 2009) was a New Zealand writer who created long poems and large-scale, mixed-media projects in which he worked with painters, designers and composers. He was known for the highly experimental natu ...

Chloe Gordon Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root ', which relates to the colors yellow and green. T ...

Dinah Hawken Dinah Hawken (born 1943) is a New Zealand poet, creative writing teacher, physiotherapist, counsellor and social worker. Life and career Hawken was born in Hāwera in 1943 and is a trained physiotherapist, psychotherapist and social worker. S ...

Anna Jackson Anna Jackson (born 1967) is a New Zealand poet, fiction and non-fiction writer and an academic. Biography Jackson grew up in Auckland and now lives in Wellington. She has an MA from the University of Auckland and a DPhil from Oxford University ...

Jan Kemp Jan Kemp may refer to: *Jan Kemp (general) Jan Christoffel Greyling Kemp (10 June 1872 – 31 December 1946) was a South African Boer officer, rebel general, and politician. Early life Jan Kemp was born in the present Amersfoort district, Tra ...

James Naughton James Naughton (born December 6, 1945) is an American actor and director. He is best known as Michael Bower on '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984-1992) and was also notable for his earlier role as the astronaut Pete Burke in the 1974 single-season telev ...

Gregory O'Brien Gregory Leo O’Brien (born 1961) is a New Zealand poet, painter and editor. Life Born in Matamata in 1961, O'Brien trained as a journalist in Auckland and worked as a newspaper reporter in Northland. He graduated from the University of Auckl ...

Peter Olds Peter Olds (born 1944) is a New Zealand poet who was born in Christchurch and lives in Dunedin. He is regarded as being a significant contributor within New Zealand literary circles, in particular, having an influence with younger poets in the 1 ...

* Bob Orr * Vincent O'Sullivan * Chris Price *

Richard Reeve Richard Reeve or Reeves (fl. 1640–1680) was an instrument maker in London in the 17th century. He worked with Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. His son was also Richard Reeve (fl. 1680). Accuracy Reeve's telescopes and microscopes had a wide ...

Elizabeth Smither Elizabeth Edwina Smither (born 15 September 1941) is a New Zealand poet and writer. Life and career Smither was born in New Plymouth, and worked there part-time as a librarian. Her first collection of poetry, ''Here Come the Clouds'', was publi ...

* Brian Turner *

Ian Wedde Ian Curtis Wedde (born 17 October 1946) is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer, critic, and art curator. Biography Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Wedde lived in East Pakistan and England as a child before returning to New Zealand. He attended ...

* Nick Williamson

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

This year's editor,

, recalled what

, a New Zealand poet who died in 2001, said about "the visceral nature of true poetry. 'Try poking it with a stick and see if it’s alive,’ was Allen’s test for a poem and it has been my first line of selection." Smither also used her assumptive "editor's privilege" to wedge in a 26th poem at the end of her introduction: Jon Bridges' "Poem for the Beasts". *

* Diana Bridge * Rachel Bush *

Glenn Colquhoun Dr. Glenn Colquhoun (born 1964) is a New Zealand poet and general practitioner. Life Colquhoun was born in Papakura, Auckland, and practices medicine on the Kapiti Coast. He lives in Waikawa Beach with his young daughter Olive. Colquhoun's firs ...

Murray Edmond Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian wh ...

Paula Green Paula Green (September 18, 1927 – December 4, 2015) was an American advertising executive, best known for writing the lyrics to the "Look for the Union Label" song for ILGWU and the Avis motto "We Try Harder". Green was one of the pione ...

Michael Harlow Michael Harlow (born 1937) is a poet, publisher, editor and librettist. A recipient of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship (1986) and the University of Otago Robert Burns Fellowship (2009), he has twice been a poetry finalist in the New Z ...

* David Howard * Andrew Johnston * Anne Kennedy *

Michele Leggott Michele Joy Leggott (born 1956) is a New Zealand poet, and an emeritus professor of English at the University of Auckland. She was the New Zealand Poet Laureate between 2007 and 2009. Biography Leggott was born in Stratford, New Zealand, and ...

Emma Neale Emma Neale (born 2 January 1969) is a novelist and poet from New Zealand. Background Neale was born in Dunedin and grew up in Christchurch, San Diego, and Wellington. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria University of Welling ...

* Bob Orr * Chris Orsman * Vincent O'Sullivan * Bill Sewell * Anna Smaill * Kendrick Smithyman * C. K. Stead * Robert Sullivan * Jo Thorpe * Rae Varcoe * Louise Wrightson *

Sonja Yelich Sonja Yelich (; born 1965) is a New Zealand poet. She is the mother of pop singer Lorde. Early life Sonja Yelich () was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1965, into an immigrant family from the region of Dalmatia. She studied literature at th ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

This year's editor,

Robin Dudding Robin Nelson Dudding (7 December 1935 – 21 April 2008) was a New Zealand literary editor and journalist who founded the influential literary journal ''Islands (journal), Islands'' (1972–1988). He was also editor of the literary journals Land ...

, citing a similar comment by

John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...

in '' The Best American Poetry 1988'', discounted the idea that the best 25 poems of a country can be picked, since any editor will be inevitably biased and won't be able to find all the best poems. It might be better to call the selection "OK New Zealand poems", Dudding indicated. "There seem to be two possible selection approaches: attempt to find worthy examples of as wide a range of poetic expression as possible; or plump for the poems that you like best, even if there is the risk of too markedly revealing one’s own taste or lack of taste," Dudding wrote. He and his wife, who helped with the selection, "plumped fairly firmly for the latter course." They included

Robin Hyde Robin Hyde, the pseudonym used by Iris Guiver Wilkinson (19 January 1906 – 23 August 1939), was a South African-born New Zealand poet, journalist and novelist. Early life Wilkinson was born in Cape Town to an English father and an Australia ...

who died in 1906 on the basis that many of her poems were first published in 2003.

, in a review for the ''

Sunday Star-Times The ''Sunday Star-Times'' is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand. ...

'', said the 2003 selection "doesn't contain a single dud" and noted that Dudding was "widely regarded as the country's most astute literary editor". * David Beach *

Peter Bland Peter Bland (born 12 May 1934 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire) is a British-New Zealand poet and actor. Life He emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 20 and graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington. He worked as a radio producer ...

* Gordon Challis *

Geoff Cochrane Geoffrey O'Neill Cochrane (1951 – November 2022) was a New Zealand poet, novelist and short story writer. He published 19 collections of poetry, a novel and a collection of short fiction. Many of his works were set in or around his hometown o ...

Fiona Farrell Fiona Farrell (born 1947) is a New Zealand poet, fiction and non-fiction writer and playwright. Early years and education Fiona Farrell was born and raised in Oamaru, in the South Island of New Zealand. She attended Waitaki Girls' High Sc ...

* Cliff Fell *

Sia Figiel Sia Figiel (born 1967 Apia, Samoa) is an American contemporary Samoan novelist, poet, and painter. Early life Sia Figiel grew up amidst traditional Samoan singing and poetry, which heavily influenced her writing. Figiel's greatest influence a ...

Rhian Gallagher Rhian Gallagher (born 1961) is a poet from New Zealand. Background Gallagher was born in 1961 in Timaru, New Zealand. She currently lives in Dunedin. Career Between 1995 and 2005, Gallagher worked in publishing in London before returning t ...

Kevin Ireland Kevin Mark Ireland (né Jowsey; 18 July 1933 – 19 May 2023) was a New Zealand poet, short story writer, novelist and librettist.

* Anne Kennedy *

Graham Lindsay Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

* Anna Livesey *

Karlo Mila Karlo Estelle Mila (born 1974) is a New Zealand writer and poet of Tongan, Pālagi and Samoan descent. Her first collection, ''Dream Fish Floating'', received the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry in 2006 at the Montana Ne ...

James Norcliffe James Norcliffe is a novelist, short story writer, poet, editor, teacher and educator. His work has been widely published and he has been the recipient of a number of writing residencies. Several of his books have been shortlisted for or won award ...

* Bob Orr * Chris Price *

Sarah Quigley Sarah Quigley is a New Zealand-born writer. Background Sarah Quigley was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on the 1 October 1967. She has an MA Hons from the University of Canterbury and a DPhil in English Literature from the University of ...

* Brian Turner * Richard von Sturmer

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, this year's editor, in her introduction proclaimed Ahmed Zaoui's "In a Dream" (translated in a "chain of versions" in ''brief 31'', Spring 2004), "if not the best, then the most important poem this year", because of the political issues involved in Zaoui's circumstances (or as Neale put it, for "its role as a nexus of politics and aesthetics"): He sought refugee status in New Zealand and had been imprisoned for two years, as of the time Neale wrote, on suspicion of ties to terrorists. She added that he hadn't been brought to trial "in accordance with United Nations human rights conventions." Although Auden said "Poetry makes nothing happen," Neale said a poem can lend support to a political cause powered by other means. "When I read a fine poem," Neale wrote, "there is usually a sense of actively arriving at layers of new knowledge, of discovering experience, or even belief, simultaneously with the speaker or personality in that poem. All of the poems I’ve chosen exhibit something of this character." *

Tusiata Avia Donna Tusiata Avia (born 1966) is a New Zealand poet and children's author. Background Avia was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her father is Samoan and her mother is Palagi (New Zealand European). Avia graduated from the Univ ...

Hinemoana Baker Hinemoana Baker (born 1968) is a New Zealand poet, musician and recording artist, teacher of creative writing and broadcaster. Biography Baker was born in Christchurch in 1968 and grew up in Whakatane and Nelson, and descends from the Ngā ...

Diane Brown Diane Edith Brown (born 1951) is a novelist and poet from New Zealand. Background Brown was born in 1951. She is based in Dunedin. Career Brown has published several novels and poetry collections including: * ''Before The Divorce We Go T ...

Linda Connell Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake ...

Wystan Curnow Wystan Tremayne Le Cren Curnow (born 1939) is a New Zealand art critic, poet, academic, arts administrator, and independent curator. He is the son of Elizabeth Curnow, a painter and printmaker, and poet Allen Curnow. Biography Curnow was born ...

Anne French Anne French (born 1956) is a New Zealand editor and poet. Life French was born in Wellington, New Zealand. She graduated from Wellington Girls' College and Victoria University of Wellington with an MA. She worked as an editor for Oxford Univer ...

* David Howard * Andrew Johnston * Tim Jones * Anne Kennedy * Tze Ming Mok *

* Vincent O'Sullivan *

Vivienne Plumb Vivienne Christiana Gracia Plumb (born 4 April 1955) is New Zealand poet, playwright, fiction writer, and editor. Biography Plumb is of both New Zealand and Australian heritage. Born in Sydney, Australia, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree i ...

* Kendrick Smithyman * C. K. Stead * Brian Turner *

Sue Wootton Sue Wootton (born 1961) is a New Zealand writer, specialising in poetry and short fiction. Biography Wootton was born in Wellington in 1961, and spent much of her early life in Wanganui before moving to Dunedin, where she attended the University ...

Ashleigh Young Ashleigh Young (born 1983) is a poet, essayist, editor and creative writing teacher. She received the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize in 2017 for her second book, a collection of personal essays titled ''Can You Tolerate This?'' which also won ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

In his introduction, Andrew Johnston (this year's editor) wrote that New Zealand poetry used to be very much like British poetry still is today, which he described as "domesticated", "unsurprising", "well-behaved" and closely following "a single register, the poet getting quietly worked up about something in the plainest conversational tone." The influence of American poetry loosened up New Zealand's poets, according to Johnston, so that the nation's poetry today has a variety of voices and styles, and there is also a tolerance in the country for different kinds of poetry. Bill Manhire and Ian Wedde were two of the poets who helped bring about the revolution, he added. * Michele Amas * Angela Andrews * Stu Bagby *

Janet Charman Janet Charman (born 1954) is a poet from New Zealand. Background Born in 1954, Charman grew up in the Hutt Valley and Taranaki. Charman initially trained as a nurse and worked in social welfare. After receiving an MA in English from the Univ ...

Mary Cresswell Mary Morris Cresswell (formerly Meyerhoff, née Howard; born 1937) is a poet living on the Kāpiti Coast, New Zealand. Early life Cresswell was born Mary Morris Howard in 1937 in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in Evanston, Illinois, and Lo ...

Stephanie de Montalk Stephanie de Montalk (born 1945) is a poet and biographer from New Zealand. Background Born in 1945, in New Zealand, de Montalk grew up in the Far North and Wellington. She trained at Wellington Hospital School of Nursing and received and M ...

* Anne Kennedy *

* Anna Livesey *

* Anna Smaill *

* Robert Sullivan * Brian Turner *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

The editors for 2006 were literary couple Anne Kennedy and Robert Sulivan, both of whom were listed in the previous year's selection. The editors commented that 2006 seemed to have produced proportionally far fewer poems by Maori and Asian writers than appeared in other years. They speculated that such writers were either not seeking publication, or not achieving it. They noted that "So much in writing, from our experience, depends upon the encouragement of publishers, editors and educators." "In selecting this year’s Best New Zealand Poems we did our best" the editors said, "to scout the diverse ethnic and intellectual communities that New Zealand poets belong to." Despite the editorial emphasis on diversity, 11 of the 25 poems selected were published in association with Victoria University. Of the remaining 14 poems, 8 were published in association with 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 ...

; leaving just five poems that were not released under the aegis of either University

The fact that both poets reside in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, and had to rely in part on "the help of the Institute of Modern Letters team who sent us care packages from home" may account for this curious distribution. However, the editors themselves emphasise the broad range of poetry they scoured to create this list. "As well as reading books by individual poets, we read poems from anthologies, magazines, arts journals, e-journals and other websites." *

* Cherie Barford *

David Eggleton David Eggleton (born 1952) is a New Zealand poet, critic and writer. Eggleton has been awarded the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for poetry and in 2019 was appointed New Zealand Poet Laureate, a title he held until 2022. Eggleton's work has app ...

* Cliff Fell * Brian Flaherty *

* Andrew Johnston *

Selina Tusitala Marsh Selina Tusitala Marsh (born 21 April 1971) is a New Zealand poet and academic, and was the New Zealand Poet Laureate for 2017–2019. Early life Marsh was born in 1971 in Auckland, New Zealand. Through her mother, Sailigi Tusitala, Marsh is o ...

* Brian Potiki * Chris Price *

* C. K. Stead * JC Sturm * Richard von Sturmer * Alison Wong

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

The year's guest editor is

, who wrote that Chris Price's poem, "Harriet and the Matches" was the "scorchingly best" poem, which she reprinted in her introduction, although Price's work was not on the list of 25 selections. In her introduction, Green gave a list of "a simultaneous cluster of best poems" by these poets: Saradha Koirala Erin Scudder,

Harry Ricketts Harry Ricketts (born 1950) is a poet, biographer, editor, anthologist, critic, academic, literary scholar and cricket writer. He has written biographies of Rudyard Kipling and of a dozen British First World War poets. Life Ricketts was bor ...

Helen Rickerby Helen Rickerby is a New Zealand poet, writer, editor and publisher. In 2020, she won the Mary and Peter Biggs poetry prize at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Biography In 1995, she was part of the group that founded ''JAAM'' literary journa ...

Marty Smith Marty Smith (November 26, 1956 – April 27, 2020) was an American professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1974 to 1981, most prominently as a member of the Honda factory racing team with whom he won t ...

, S. K. Johnson,

Kay McKenzie Cooke Kay McKenzie Cooke (born 1953) is a poet from New Zealand. Background Cooke was born in 1953 in Tuatapere, Southland, New Zealand. She is of Kai Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, English, Scottish, and Irish descent. She attended the Dunedin Teachers' Co ...

, David Howard,

Jennifer Compton Jennifer Compton (born 1949) is a New Zealand-born Australian poet and playwright. Biography She was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1949 and attended Wellington East Girls' College. In the 1970s she emigrated to Sydney, Australia with her ...

, Richard von Sturmer, Sue Reidy,

Charlotte Simmons ''I Am Charlotte Simmons'' is a 2004 novel by Tom Wolfe, concerning sexual and status relationships at the fictional Dupont University. Wolfe researched the novel by talking to students at North Carolina, Florida, Penn, Duke, Stanford, and Michi ...

, Rae Varcoe,

Fiona Kidman Dame Fiona Judith Kidman ( Eakin, born 26 March 1940) is a New Zealand novelist, poet, scriptwriter and short story writer. She grew up in Northland, and worked as a librarian and a freelance journalist early in her career. She began writing ...

, Jack Ross,

Airini Beautrais Airini Jane Beautrais (born 1982) is a poet and short-story writer from New Zealand. Background Beautrais was born in 1982 and grew up in Auckland and Whanganui. She studied creative writing and ecological science at the Victoria University o ...

, Amy Brown,

Katherine Liddy Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, Thérèse Lloyd, and Scott Kendrick. As had Kennedy and Sullivan in the previous year's introduction, Green complained that there weren't more Maori and Asian poems published during the year. But there were plenty of submissions overall, she wrote, "At one point in January the stack of best poems on my floor stood at 20 cms ic" * Johanna Aitchison * Angela Andrews * Serie (Cherie) Barford * Sarah Jane Barnett *

* Cliff Fell *

* Andrew Johnston * Anne Kennedy *

Jessica Le Bas Jessica Le Bas is a Nelson-based poet from New Zealand. Background Le Bas received her MA(Hons) from the University of Auckland. Career During the Balkan Wars, Le Bas worked for the United Nations as a Training Consultant for UNPROFOR. She ...

* Dora Malech * Alice Miller *

* Vincent O'Sullivan *

* C. K. Stead * Robert Sullivan * Alison Wong

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2008's guest editor was

. * Johanna Aitchison *

* Emma Barnes * David Beach *

* Amy Brown * Cliff Fell * Joan Fleming *

Sam Hunt Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sports career before signing with MCA ...

Lynn Jenner Lynn Jenner is a poet and essayist from New Zealand. Background Jenner was born in Hāwera, Taranaki. She worked as an educational psychologist and counsellor until 2003. She began studying writing at Whitireia Polytechnic and completed an M ...

* Jean McCormack *

* Bob Orr * Chris Orsman * Richard Reeve * Sam Sampson *

Kerrin P. Sharpe Kerrin is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Kerrin Harrison (born 1964), New Zealand badminton player *Kerrin Hayes (born 1951), Australian rules footballer *Kerrin Lee-Gartner (born 1966), Canadian ...

* Tim Upperton * Richard von Sturmer * Tom Weston *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2009's guest editor was Robyn Marsack. *

Sarah Broom Sarah Broom (1972–2013) was a New Zealand poet, Oxford graduate, university lecturer and mother of three children. Her work included two books of poetry, ''Tigers at Awhitu'' (published jointly in England and New Zealand) and ''Gleam.'' After ...

* Lynn Davidson * John Gallas *

* David Howard *

* Brent Kininmont *

* Chris Price *

* C. K. Stead * Brian Turner * Tim Upperton *

Louise Wallace Louise Annette Wallace (née Hooper, born 21 November 1959) is a New Zealand television presenter, actress, and director. Early life Born Louise Annette Hooper in Auckland on 21 November 1959, Wallace was educated at St Cuthbert's College. S ...

* Douglas Wright *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2010's guest editor was Chris Price. *

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 ...

* Emma Barnes * Sarah Jane Barnett * Miro Bilbrough *

* Cliff Fell * John Gallas *

* Anne Kennedy * Anna Livesey *

Cilla McQueen Priscilla Muriel McQueen (born 22 January 1949 in Birmingham, England) is a poet and three-time winner of the ''New Zealand Book Award'' for Poetry. Early years and education McQueen's family moved to New Zealand when she was four. She was educ ...

* David Mitchell *

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flor ...

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

* Kerrin P Sharpe *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2011's guest editor was

. * John Adams *

Hera Lindsay Bird Hera Lindsay Bird (born 31 December 1987) is a New Zealand poet. Life and career Hera Lindsay Bird was born and raised in Thames in the North Island of New Zealand. She attended Victoria University of Wellington and then received her Master's d ...

* Rachel Bush * Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle * Joan Fleming * Janis Freegard *

* Rob Hack *

* Brent Kininmont *

* Helen Lehndorf *

Kate McKinstry Kate name may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer * Lauren Kate (born 1981), American autho ...

* Harvey Molloy *

* Rachel O'Neill * Marty Smith * Rānui Taiapa * Tim Upperton *

* Douglas Write

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2012's guest editor was

. * Sarah Jane Barnett * Tony Beyer *

* Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle *

* John Gallas * Siobhan Harvey *

Helen Heath Helen Heath (born 1970) is a poet from New Zealand. Background Heath is based in Wellington, New Zealand. She received her MA and PhD in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters, at the Victoria University of Wellin ...

* David Howard * Andrew Johnston * Anne Kennedy * Aleksandra Lane *

Frankie McMillan Frankie McMillan is a writer of poetry, fiction and flash fiction. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. Biography Frankie McMillan was born in Christchurch in 1950. She studied education and sociology at the University of Canterbury. In t ...

* Sam Sampson * Kerrin P Sharpe *

C K Stead Christian Karlson "Karl" Stead (born 17 October 1932) is a New Zealand writer whose works include novels, poetry, short stories, and literary criticism. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known and internationally celebrated writers. Early l ...

* Richard von Sturmer * Albert Wendt *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2013's guest editors were Mark Williams and Jane Stafford. *

*Amy Brown *

* Mary-Jane Duffy *

* Johanna Emeney * Cliff Fell *

* Caoilinn Hughes *

* Anne Kennedy *

* Therese Lloyd *

* Rachel O'Neill * Vincent O'Sullivan *

* Chris Tse *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2014's guest editor was Vincent O'Sullivan. *

*Amy Brown *

* John Dennison * Cliff Fell *

Rogelio Guedea Rogelio () is a masculine Spanish given name and a variant of the first name Roger. Notable people with the name include: *Rogelio Antonio, Jr. (born 1962), Filipino chess player *Rogelio Armenteros (born 1994), Cuban pitcher in Major League Base ...

* Caoilinn Hughes *

Kevin Ireland Kevin Mark Ireland (né Jowsey; 18 July 1933 – 19 May 2023) was a New Zealand poet, short story writer, novelist and librettist.

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Owen Marshall Owen Marshall Jones (born 17 August 1941, Te Kuiti, New Zealand), who writes under the pen name Owen Marshall, is a New Zealand short story writer and novelist. The third son of a Methodist minister younger brother of Allan Jones, and older br ...

* Claire Orchard *

Nina Powles Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms *National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq * Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology * No incom ...

Joanna Preston Joanna Preston (born 1972) is an Australian poet, editor and creative writing tutor based in New Zealand. She has published two award-winning collections of poetry. Life and career Preston was born in Sydney in 1972, and grew up in rural New S ...

* Kerrin P Sharpe *Marty Smith *

* Brian Turner

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2015's guest editor was

. * Morgan Bach *

Serie Barford Serie Barford is a performance poet from Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand). Her poetry collection, ''Tapa Talk'', was published in 2007 to critical acclaim. She has published four other books of poetry (in 1985, 1989, 2015, and 2021). Her poems a ...

* Sarah Jane Barnett *David Beach *

* John Dennison * Belinda Diepenheim *

* Joan Fleming *

* Alexandra Hollis * Brent Kininmont *

Iain Lonie Iain Malcolm Lonie (1932 – 18 June 1988) was a British-born New Zealand poet and a historian of ancient Greek medicine. His academic career was spent between New Zealand, Australia and England. He read classics at the University of Cambridge ...

* Vincent O'Sullivan *

Frances Samuel Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "French ...

* kani te manukura * Steven Toussaint * Bryan Walpert * Alison Wong *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2016's guest editor was

. *

Nick Ascroft Nick Ascroft (born 1973) is a New Zealand poet and writer. Life Nick Ascroft was born in Oamaru, New Zealand in 1973. In his career of writing, his poetry has been featured widely in both New Zealand and international journals. Ascroft's publis ...

* Rachel Bush * John Dennison * Ish Doney * Lynley Edmeades * Rata Gordon *

* Scott Hamilton * Adrienne Jansen * Andrew Johnston * Anna Livesey *

* Leslie McKay *

* Claire Orchard * Vincent O'Sullivan *

* Oscar Upperton * Tim Upperton *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2017's guest editor was

. Marsh said she wanted "to be able to map the latest constellation of Aotearoa's poetry stars and navigate the various poetic journeys being offered from a particular time and place"; the collection included "Pākaitore" by

about the 1995 protest at Moutoa Gardens. *

* Liz Breslin *

* Makyla Curtis *

Annelyse Gelman Annelyse Gelman is an American poet. Her second poetry collection, ''Vexations'', won the 2022 James Laughlin Award and has been longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award for Poetry. Education Gelman studied psychology during her undergradua ...

* Gregory Kan * Ben Kemp * Jiaqiao Liu * Ria Masae *

Courtney Sina Meredith Courtney Sina Meredith (born 1986) is a poet, playwright, and short story author from New Zealand. Background Born in 1986, Meredith grew up in Glen Innes and is of Samoan, Cook Island and Irish descent. She attended Ponsonby Primary Schoo ...

* Hannah Mettner *

* Tru Paraha *

* Vaughan Rapatahana * Emma Shi * Carin Smeaton *

* Mere Taito * Angela Troloven * Jamie Trower * Chris Tse *

* Albert Wendt * Briar Woof

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Best New Zealand Poems Poetry anthologies New Zealand poetry 21st-century New Zealand literature Anthology series