How to celebrate National Poetry Day – Friday 16 August 2013

Next Friday is the perfect day to get your poetry on. First up, Christchurch City Libraries’ customers can enter our National Poetry Day competition. Write an original piece of poetry and drop it in to your local library, or download an entry form and email to us. You could win a $50 book voucher and have your work published on the library website or blog. Entries close 5pm 16 August 2013.

Fernbank Studio: away past elsewhere is a Christchurch Art Gallery exhibition at our Central Library Peterborough. It features a selection of hand-printed books, broadsides and ephemera from Fernbank Studio, a private press run by Brendan O’Brien in Wellington. One of New Zealand’s foremost letterpress printers, O’Brien has printed books for significant poets and artists including Bill Manhire, Jenny Bornholdt, Joanna Margaret Paul, Gregory O’Brien, Mari Mahr, Ralph Hotere and Pip Culbert. Fernbank Studio: away past elsewhere showcases the collaborative relationship that exists between poets, artists and the printer.

More Christchurch events & competitions

• Phantom Billstickers presents Kiwi poets. Friday 16 August, 7.30pm at Addington Coffee Co-op. Features Tusiata Avia, Ben Brown, David Eggleton, Frankie McMillan, John Pule, and Jay Clarkson.
• A Celebration of Hagley Poets. Friday 16 August, 6pm, Writers’ Block, Hagley Community College.
  Bernadette Hall will announce the winners of our poetry competition for students and graduates of the Hagley Writers’ Institute and this will be followed by readings from the winners and Hagley tutors and supervisors, Frankie McMillan, Kerrin Sharpe, Tusiata Avia, Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, Christina Stachurski and Bernadette Hall.
  Poets and poetry lovers welcome. Wine and nibbles.
• Poetica launches Poetry project #5 El Tiempo in collaboration with artist Wongi. 157a Gloucester Street (behind Moko Cafe on New Regent Street, Saturday 17 August 4pm to 6pm.
• Booksellers NZ lists local events including:
  • UBS Canterbury Poetry Competition
  • Poetic Licence Wednesday 14 August, 5:30 – 7:30pm Sydenham Room, South Library, After Hours entrance
    Your licence to read and enjoy poetry. The South Island Writers Association and Airing Cupboard Women Poets invite you to a BYO poetry event.
  • UBS Poetry for Lunch Friday 16 August, 12:30pm, University Bookshop Canterbury, University Drive
    Poets Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, Bernadette Hall and James Norcliffe will give readings, as will UBS’s 2013 Poetry Competition winners.
  • Poetry with Joanna Preston Saturday 17 August, 10:30am to 1:30pm
    Habgood Lounge, Lincoln Event Centre: Love, Death, and the Changing of the Seasons – a Reading for Writing class, focusing on poetry’s Big Three subjects: love, death, and change. Saturday mornings, August 17th to September 14th.

Other ways to celebrate

• Take a walk down Victoria Street. It has this stunning poems by Hinemoana Baker, Ben Brown and Ariana Tikao on display.

• Discover the splendours of Twitter Poetry Night. Poet Ashleigh Young has thrice brought together a bunch of keen New Zealand poets and poetry lovers to read put favourite poems.
• Explore two wonderful poetry pages by poet Paula Green:

• the brand spanking new NZ poetry shelf

• and Poetry Box for kids.

• Get a book of poetry or two out of the library – go New Zealand poets. Some recent collections I have loved (or am keen to get my paws on:

• Read one of the poems that Phantom Billstickers put on the streets.  Check out their Facebook page for examples of poetry they put up all around the world. This one was in Tuam Street. I see Phantom Poetry every day and it gives me a zing.

• Put a poem in your pocket

And more poetry

• A set of images of NZ poets on Digital NZ
• Our National Poetry Day page
• Previous Poetry Days
• Our poetry page