'Though dear to my heart is Zealandia, /For
the home of my boyhood I yearn;/ I dream, among sunshine and
grandeur, / Of a land that is misty and stern; /From the land
of the moa and the Maori/ My thoughts to old Scotia will turn;
/Thus the Heather is blent with the Kauri /And the Thistle
entwined with the Fern.'
Thus John Liddell Kelly (1850-1926), wishing that his native
country and his new land could be somehow brought together across
the separating seas. Despite the unbelievable changes in communication
since his lifetime, and a constant coming and going between Scotland
and New Zealand, both countries remain ill-informed, generally,
about each other's literatures, especially poetry. As Director
of the Scottish Poetry Library, let me add a personal word here,
as a New Zealander born and bred who has now spent more time
in Scotland than in my native land: there is a modest but significant
way of altering this situation of mutual ignorance.
Introduction
New Zealand and Scotland have a great deal in common, and it
seems timely to exchange our poetries as both countries, in their
own ways, learn to celebrate their culturally diverse communities,
their linguistic heritage and expansion, the new, imaginative
interpretations of the old 'fern' and 'thistle'.
Taking the first step, with the help of Creative New Zealand,
the Scottish Poetry Library has acquired over sixty new volumes
of poetry by New Zealand poets, and has acquired a further twenty
volumes by kind donation. The SPL will also be subscribing to
the long-established New Zealand journal Landfall, and
the lively Sport.
The next step is to get those volumes out and circulating among
poetry readers. But for those who don't know where to start,
or which poets they might find congenial, we will be highlighting
a different New Zealand poem each month - bookmark this section
and visit again, to see which poet is featured next.
Scottish writers will be choosing a poem they like and writing
about it; there will be biographical details of both the NZ poet
and the chooser; and of course we would be delighted if one poem
leads you to want to read another… and you come
to the SPL to borrow the book. Or call us and ask to borrow
by post if you can't get to Edinburgh.
Times have changed since Kelly's plaint, of course. It's still
a long-haul flight to New Zealand, though, and for those who
can't make the journey immediately, you could try travelling
via poetry. As Dinah Hawken wrote in her poem for Bill Manhire's
fiftieth birthday:
In Wellington, if you want to fly off to Southland
or Scotland you hop on the tail or the wing
of a word – or sit back in the cabin, blow up
your inflatable pillow, all shook up
in the capital's gusts – and take off. Then doze off.
Somehow after that you have entry to all our dreams.
You enter with a huge plate of home-made but delicate
phrases – a guest and a host of the floating world.
We hope you enjoy reading our New Zealand guests and their Scottish
hosts.
Related
events
There will be readings by New Zealand
poet Andrew Johnston and
Scottish-based, New Zealand born poet Gerrie
Fellows in London (28 May) and Edinburgh (29 May). We hope
that other events will follow.
You can also send e-cards by
these poets, and by Dinah Hawken and Hone Tuwhare.
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