A lively evening of spoken word performance from four of New Zealand’s leading poets: Tusiata Avia, Tayi Tibble, Hera Lindsay Bird and Daren Kamali.
Responding to Te Atamira’s exhibition Lyrics and Lines, and bringing their own creative lens on life and art, these writers will draw us into the magic of the written and spoken word.
Waged $44/unwaged $36
To book, visit teatamira.nz/whats-on
Speakers
Daren Kamali
Daren is a poet, writer and musician whose work is influenced and inspired by his Fijian background. From Fiji to Wellington at 17 to busking in Auckland’s CBD as a street poet at 22 in the late 1990s to recording two musical albums in early 2000, Daren is now a dedicated creator and supporter of New Zealand and Pacific poetry with a number of published works and artist/writer residencies to his name. Supported by Pacific Arts – Creative NZ
Events
Hera Lindsay Bird
Hera Lindsay Bird is a poet from Dunedin. Her debut, self titled book of poetry Hera Lindsay Bird was published by Te Herenga Waka University Press and Penguin UK. She won the Jessie McKay Best First Book Award in 2017, The Sarah Broom Poetry Prize in 2017 and was an Arts Foundation New Generation Laureate in 2018. She is currently working on a novel and interactive text game for kids.
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Tayi Tibble
Tayi Tibble (Te Whānau ā Apanui/Ngāti Porou) was born in 1995. Her first book, Poūkahangatus (Te Herenga Waka University Press, 2018), won the Jessie Mackay Best First Book of Poetry Award in 2019. Her second, Rangikura (Te Herenga Waka University Press, 2021), was shortlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry in 2022. Poūkahangatus and Rangikura are also published by Knopf in the US and Penguin in the UK. Tayi’s work is widely anthologised and has appeared in Best New Zealand Poems, Granta Magazine, Alta Journal, Literary Hub, and The New Yorker.
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Tusiata Avia
Tusiata Avia is a poet, writer and performer. She has published five books of poetry, children’s books, short films, radio documentaries and plays. Her iconic play Wild Dogs Under My Skirt showed Off-Broadway in 2020, where it won the Fringe Encore Outstanding Production of the Year.
Tusiata was awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to poetry and the arts and an Arts Foundation Laureate in 2020; Distinguished Alumni at Te Herenga Waka University of Victoria, 2023; and in 2024, the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement.
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