Australia was recently visited by New Zealand’s new Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. At the end of her visit some wag commented that ‘Australia has a smart, progressive Prime Minister with a firm vision of the future; unfortunately, she’s returning to New Zealand later this week.’
Which leads me to the February edition of Poetry Magazine featuring new New Zealand poetry. A favourite (listen to the Audio if you can) is Tim Upperton’s
The truth about Palmerston North
Among rich and varied contributions I liked: Anna Jackson, Bees, so many bees, the collaborative poetry of Gregory O’Brien and John Puhiatau – Song of the Coral Brain and the wry What to Do If You Find a Dead Hobbit in Your Garden by Murray Edmond.
Go visit and be impressed.
Image: Sunbathers at the Moeraki Boulders, Otago, March 1969. Photographer, D Nicholson, Archives of New Zealand. Flickr. * Aotearoa is the Maori name for the country of New Zealand. The literal translation of Aotearoa is “land of the long white cloud”.
Peter Frankis writes 
I have a sun-bleached gnome that’s ready for protected status, and possibly the Paralympic Games, having lost a foot when knocked for six by a grey squirrel. Incidentally, this is in reference to the Hobbit delight…
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