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Richard von Sturmer (born 1957) is an artist, poet, playwright, film-maker, and musician from 
In music, von Sturmer fronted New Zealand punk/art band
The Floral Clocks
with von Sturmer writing lyrics which White set to music. These songs were released as an album ''Desert Fire'', mostly performed by White alone. A second album, ''A Beautiful Shade of Blue'' was released in 2017, and their third ''Gas Giant'' was released in 2019.
Electronic Poetry Centre site
Auckland Zen Centre website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:von Sturmer, Richard 1957 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand poets Zen Buddhists New Zealand musicians
Richard von Sturmer (born 1957) is an artist, poet, playwright, film-maker, and musician from New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. He was born in Devonport, North Auckland
The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā ...
.
His poetry and prose has appeared in journals such as '' The New Zealand Listener, brief, Landfall'', ''Sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
, and Zen Bow.''
In music, von Sturmer fronted New Zealand punk/art band The Plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
, continued with The Humanimals, Avant Garage, and wrote the lyrics for Blam Blam Blam
Blam Blam Blam were a New Zealand pop/rock/alternative band. Tim Mahon (bass) and Mark Bell (guitar, vocals) had been members of The Plague and The Whizz Kids. After losing their drummer Ian Gilroy to The Swingers in 1980, Tim and Mark joine ...
's anti-Robert Muldoon
Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party.
Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...
song "There Is No Depression In New Zealand"'','' which has been described as a 'classic alternative national anthem.' The Plague are particularly known for their 1979 performance at the Nambassa festival, where four members (including von Sturmer) appeared naked apart from body paint.
Richard von Sturmer is a Zen Buddhist
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
, who gave up eating meat when he was 16. He studied for ten years at the Rochester Zen Center
The Rochester Zen Center (RZC) is a Sōtō and Rinzai school, Rinzai Zen Buddhist sangha in the Kapleau lineage, located in Rochester, New York and established in 1966 by Philip Kapleau. It is one of the oldest Zen centers in the United States.
...
in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Von Sturmer is married to Sensei Amala Wrightson (previously Charlotte Wrightson), with whom he co-founded the Auckland Zen Centre.
From 2014, von Sturmer has worked with film-maker Gabriel White as the duThe Floral Clocks
with von Sturmer writing lyrics which White set to music. These songs were released as an album ''Desert Fire'', mostly performed by White alone. A second album, ''A Beautiful Shade of Blue'' was released in 2017, and their third ''Gas Giant'' was released in 2019.
Plays and film scripts
Von Sturmer was involved with the following plays and film scripts: * 1976. ''Circadian Rhythms'' (dir: David Blythe) * 1980. ''The Green Lion'' * 1981. ''The Search for Otto''Published collections of writing
Von Sturmer has published the following collections of writing: * 1988. ''We Xerox Your Zebras'' * 1991. ''A Network of Dissolving Threads'' * 1998. ''Images From The Center'' (with photographer Joseph Sorrentino) * 2005. ''Suchness: Zen Poetry and Prose'' * 2009. ''On the Eve of Never Departing'' * 2011. ''The Book of Equanimity Verses'' * 2016. ''This Explains Everything (memoir)''Exhibitions
Von Sturner has had the following exhibitions: * 1987 ''The Search for Otto in “Recent New Zealand Films”'', Japan. * 1990. ''The Search for Otto in “Images in Motion”.'' New Plymouth. * 2007. ''24 Tanka Films.'' Wellington. New Zealand Film Institute. * 2010. ''Rubble Emits Light.'' Auckland. (Retrospective). * 2011. ''The Stone Age Dream of Headstones''. Auckland. (Group show)References
External links
Electronic Poetry Centre site
Auckland Zen Centre website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:von Sturmer, Richard 1957 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand poets Zen Buddhists New Zealand musicians