Michele Joy Leggott (born 1956) is a New Zealand poet, and an emeritus professor of English at 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 ...

. She was the

New Zealand Poet Laureate The New Zealand Poet Laureate is a poet appointed by the National Library of New Zealand to represent New Zealand's community of poets, to promote and advocate for poetry, and to produce a number of published works during their two-year tenure as ...

between 2007 and 2009.

Biography

Leggott was born in

Stratford, New Zealand Stratford ( mi, Whakaahurangi) is the only town in Stratford District, New Zealand, Stratford District, and the seat of the Taranaki region, in New Zealand's North Island. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, approximately halfw ...

, and received her secondary education at

New Plymouth Girls' High School New Plymouth Girls' High School is a girls' state secondary school in Strandon, New Plymouth, New Zealand. The school separated from New Plymouth High School in 1914, leaving New Plymouth Boys' High School on the old site. It is currently one of ...

, before attending the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

where she completed an MA in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in 1979. She then moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to do a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. Her dissertation was on the American poet

Louis Zukofsky Louis Zukofsky (January 23, 1904 – May 12, 1978) was an American poet. He was the primary instigator and theorist of the so-called "Objectivist" poets, a short lived collective of poets who after several decades of obscurity would reemerge a ...

and was published as ''Reading Zukofsky’s 80 Flowers'' (1989). Leggott began publishing her poetry around 1980. She published ''Sound Pitch Considered Forms'' with two Canadian poets in 1984. In 1985 she returned to New Zealand and took up a lectureship at the University of Auckland. She produced her first book of poems, ''Like This?'', in 1988, winning the

International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

First Book of Poetry award. In her collection of poetry, "As Far as I Can See" (Auckland University Press, 1999), Leggott wrote about her deep sorrow at losing her sight - she began going blind in 1985. Leggott was awarded a Blind Achievers Award by the Foundation for the Blind in 1999 for her work on "The Book of Nadath". In 1991 she published ''Swimmers, Dancers'', with a domestic focus, and in 1995 she won 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 ...

with ''DIA''. On 4 December 2007, she was named

for 2008/2009. Her work has appeared in the

Best New Zealand Poems series ''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 at Victoria University of Wellington in New ...

in 2002 and 2005. In the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...

, Leggott was appointed a

Member 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 on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to poetry.

Personal life

Michele is married to Mark Fryer, and they have 2 adult sons.

Honours and awards

* 2008/09 New Zealand Poet Laureate *2013

Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement is a New Zealand literary award established in 2003 by the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand), the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government. Each ...

Works

Poetry

* 1988: ''Like This?: Poems''. Christchurch: Caxton Press * 1991: ''Swimmers, Dancers''. Auckland: Auckland University Press * 1994: ''DIA''. Auckland: Auckland University Press * 1999: ''As far as I can see''. Auckland: Auckland University Press * 2005: ''Milk & Honey''. Auckland: Auckland University Press * 2006: ''Journey to Portugal''. Images by Gretchen Albrecht. Auckland: Holloway Press * 2009: ''Mirabile Dictu''. Auckland: Auckland University Press * 2014 ''Heartland''. Auckland: Auckland University Press * 2017 ''Vanishing Points''. Auckland: Auckland University Press * 2020 (March) ''Mezzaluna''. Auckland: Auckland University Press; first published by Wesleyan University Press, US

Editor

* 1989: ''Reading Zukofsky's 80 Flowers'', Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press * 1995: ''The Victory Hymn, 1935-1995'', by

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 ...

; with an essay by Michele Leggott; Auckland: Holloway Press * 1995: ''Opening the Book : New Essays on New Zealand Writing'', Edited by Mark Williams and Michele Leggott; Auckland: Auckland University Press * 1999: ''The book of Nadath'', by Robin Hyde; introduction and notes by Michele Leggott; Auckland: Auckland University Press * 2000: ''Big Smoke: New Zealand Poems 1960-1975'', edited by

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. ...

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 who ...

, Michele Leggott; Auckland: Auckland University Press * 2003: ''Young Knowledge: the poems of Robin Hyde'', edited and introduced by Michele Leggott; Auckland: Auckland University Press

References

External links

New Zealand Book Council: ProfileNew Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre: Online works and articles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leggott, Michele 1956 births Living people Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand poets New Zealand women poets New Zealand Poets Laureate People from Stratford, New Zealand University of Auckland faculty University of British Columbia alumni University of Canterbury alumni People educated at New Plymouth Girls' High School