blog – Page 3 – Olivia Macassey

Notebook (page 3 of 6)

August 14, 2019

Write On! Here’s a fun feature in the Northern Advocate by poet and writer John Geraets (whose wonderful selected writing Everything’s Something in Place came out this year), with additional pieces by poets Aaron Robertson, Piet Nieuwland, and me:

“Interesting things are happening in the Whangārei writing scene. Whether public readings, writing and discussion groups or magazines to contribute to, there is much to take part in and a chance to enjoy the company of others” – John Geraets.

“My own practice of writing poetry is one of strange, random compulsions. Although, in general, I don’t think in words (I have to ‘translate’ thoughts from spatial images), the words in my poetry often seem to form by themselves — it’s like being inhabited by poems” – me.

Read online here, or, if you can’t access premium content, here is a pdf from the print edition: Write On! Northern Advocate, Sat August 10

Great Plate, 2019, Quarry Arts Centre

July 20, 2019 / Livingston /

Glazed ceramic, 27 cm.

Much-loved creative arts community Quarry Arts Centre in Whangarei is running its annual Great Plate fundraiser. It’s a really amazing, fun event in which artists are invited to create or decorate a plate. The results are well worth checking out!

Plates are exhibited in the Yvonne Rust Gallery from Friday 12 July until Saturday 27 July. They are also auctioned on Trademe.
This year I have a plate in Great Plates – ceramic with a poem in glaze applied by calligraphy brush and glaze pencil.

I was alive
when the world was full
of life: a dance of animals
and plants, insects and seasons. I
remember the delicate skin of frogs
& the humming geography of bees.
I was alive when the earth was
alive. It was so beautiful
I wish you could have
seen it.

Call for Submissions: Fast Fibres 6, ed. Piet Nieuwland and Olivia Macassey

May 1, 2019 / Livingston /

Managing editor Piet Nieuwland has once again invited me to co-edit Fast Fibres poetry from Northland. This is a great little anthology, and this year we are supported by Creative Communities, which is great! So please send poems to fastfibres@live.com by June 14.

Ngā Kupu Waikato: An anthology of Waikato poetry

March 20, 2019 / Livingston /

The new poetry anthology Ngā Kupu Waikato: an Anthology of Waikato Poetry, edited by Vaughan Rapatahana with an introduction by Mark Houlahan (Waikato Press 2019), is out now, with a book launch at Browsers Bookshop, Victoria Street, Hamilton at 4.00 pm on Sunday 31st March.

The first ever anthology of poems from the Waikato, Ngā Kupu Waikato includes some fantastic work by 40 poets ranging from well-known to new and emerging writers, including Stephanie Christie, Murray Edmond, Amanda Hunt, Terry Locke, Maris O’Rourke, Bob Orr, Vincent O’Sullivan, essa may ranapiri, Tracey Slaughter, and Loren Thomas.

The Waikato region includes the Coromandel Peninsula, where I’m from, and I am fortunate that two of my poems are included: ‘Home’ and ‘At Kuaotunu’.

and they have dragged the old upright piano out of the hall again,

brought it over to the sandy barren where

my now youthful mother begins to sing the night’s raw crescendo and diminuendo

through jazz to blues, the fiddle player resting his beer on top of the case

February 16, 2019

Almost all great works are destroyed by a complication of natures, that which is beneficial in one respect being hurtful in another; so that herein there is need of an accurate judg-ment and a discreet practice. And this I have done, as far as the matter allows and I can at present devise, by separating kindly heats from hurtful, and the things which tend to both.

– Francis Bacon, History of Life and Death (1638)

Otoliths issue 51

November 14, 2018 / Livingston /

Otoliths 51

I’m really excited to be in the latest issue of Otoliths, Otoliths issue 51 (editor Mark Young) along with a host of wonderful writers and artists. Otoliths is one of my go-to reads but it’s the first time I’ve had work in it myself. One of the pieces, ‘The death of Sylvain’, is from a series I’ve been working on for a while now, and previous poems from the same series appeared in brief 40 (ed Ted Jenner) and 48 (ed Brett Cross). And it’s especially meaningful for me that ‘Elegy for Jill Chan’, written in memory of a wonderful poet and writer, who died earlier this year, was selected.

(My four poems are located here).

brief journal – issue 56

October 28, 2018 / Livingston /

Brief issue 56 – cover by Matt Kelly

After a long wait brief issue 56 came out recently, much to everyone’s excitement! I know I am biased (having edited it) but there really is a lot of wonderful writing in this issue, as well as vispo, paintings, and reviews. Editing brief takes time, but spending time in its strange world is always a pleasure because of the quality – and quantity – of interesting work that comes our way.

Writers include John Adams, Nick Ascroft, Iain Britton, Nicholas Butler, Brent Cantwell, Jill Chan, Stephanie Christie, Makyla Curtis, John Downie (who has some amazing paintings), Doc Drumheller, Norman Franke, Jasmine Gallagher, Michael Giacon, Joy Holley, Mark Houlahan, Erik Kennedy, Rhiannon Leddra, Bronwyn Lloyd, Caoimhe McKeogh, Piet Nieuwland, Keith Nunes, Sarah Penwarden, Chris Pigott, Sugu Pillay, essa may ranapiri, Vaughan Rapatahana, Sahanika Ratnayake, Jack Ross, Lisa Samuels, Erena Shingade, Carin Smeaton, Fiona Stevens, Chris Stewart, David Taylor, Richard Taylor, Loren Thomas, Richard von Sturmer, and Mark Young.

Available from certain bookshops (if your favourite cool bookshop doesn’t have it, you can ask them to order it) or via brief‘s website.

September 2, 2018

This is what I am working on:

I talk about you in the first person

Fast Fibres Poetry 5: more events

August 21, 2018 / Livingston /

Fast Fibres is selling fast now: contact Piet Nieuwland for your copy!

Just like last year, there will be an open mic at the King’s Theatre up in Kawakawa, and a Poetry Popup at the Whangarei library:

POETRY POPUP with Fast Fibres Poetry Five – Whangarei Library, free entry. Saturday 25 August from 10am to 12 midday

“Still feeling the poetry vibe? Warm down from Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day on Saturday with our POETRY POPUP at Whangarei Central Library. Featuring Fast Fibres Poetry Five poets Olivia Macassey, Piet Nieuwland, Aaron Robertson, Martin Porter and many more. Please come along and read your poetry and support Fast Fibres Poetry 5. It should be fun with a busy audience of library goers. See you there!”

Kings Theatre Creative Poetry Open Mic, entry $5, afternoon tea. Sunday 27 August 1.30 – 4pm, 80 Gillies Street Kawakawa.

“Get together with your family and friends at Kings Theatre Creative in Kawakawa to be moved by an afternoon of diverse, compelling, engaging and outrageous poetry. Feature poets include Olivia Macassey, Martin Porter, Piet Nieuwland and many others who are in the freshly launched Fast Fibres Poetry 5. Unleash your creativity and perform your poetry live at the open mic session.”

Fast Fibres Poetry Five

August 10, 2018 / Livingston /

Fast Fibres Five

Fast Fibres Poetry Five: from Northland ed. Piet Nieuwland and Olivia Macassey
(Fast Fibres Poetry Collective, 2018)

Featuring: Sarah Angus, Shelly Arlidge, Michael Botur, Robert Burt, Lyndsay Campbell, Geraldine Craw, Robert Davis, D’Bruce, Arthur Fairley, Michael Giacon, Vaughan Gunson, Jacqueline Hammond, Christel Jeffs, Jac Jenkins, Mike Jenkins, Graham Johnson, Lynda King, Audrey Lappin, Tracie Lark, Wes Lee, Olivia Macassey, Jack McKerchar, Gregory McNeill, Piet Nieuwland, Margaret Northey, Denise O’Hagan, Maris O’Rourke, Charlie Parker, Martin Porter, Ellen Rhodes, Aaron Robertson, Natascha Rodenburg, Raewyn Smith, Tashintheclouds, Leena Taylor, Vivian Thonger, Alistair Tulett, Mercedes Webb-Pullman.

Launch: Thursday 16 August, 5.30pm to 7.30pm
Location: Poets At ONEONESIX, 116 Bank Street Whangarei

To purchase: contact Piet Nieuwland fastfibres@live.com