CHRIS TSE
Chris Tse was born and raised in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. He studied film and English literature at Victoria University of Wellington, where he also completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. His poetry has been published in journals and anthologies in New Zealand and overseas. He was one of three featured poets in AUP New Poets 4, and his first full-length poetry collection, How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes, will be published by Auckland University Press in September 2014.
http://www.christse.co.nz
BOB ORR
Has had an important place in New Zealand poetry since1971when his first book length collection was published. Since then many of his works have featured in edited collections, journals and anthologies.
Iain Sharp has described him as ‘...the purest romantic lyric poet of his generation’ whilst Russell Haley wrote in 1979, ‘Bob Orr’s poetic voice is surely the quietest to emerge in a decade of new poets...’
Bob knew as a child he wanted to write poetry, and it seems very fitting that he is to judge the New VOICES poetry competition and that this is the first time he will take part at a Divine Muses evening to read his poetry.
http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Profiles/Orr,%20Bob
RIEMKE ENSING
Born in Groningen, The Netherlands, in 1939. She immigrated to New Zealand in 1951. 1967 she graduated with MA (Hons) and was appointed as tutor in the English Department at the University of Auckland, where she taught till 1999. She was appointed an Honorary Research Fellow (Faculty of Arts) and in 2002 was a Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellow. Her poetry is represented extensively in anthologies and her work has appeared in many publications both in New Zealand and overseas.
Later this month the world premiere of an exciting new work Storm Warning for vocalist and chamber ensemble that brings together the talents of poet Riemke Ensing and composer Alex van den Broek will open in Christchurch.
http://www.ensing.co.nz
http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Profiles/Ensing,%20Riemke
PETER BLAND
A poet and actor, whose writing commits to an everyday sub-urban sense of reality, often exploiting the framework of the dramatic monologue.
He has a distinguished place in New Zealand theatre history as co-founder of Downstage and artistic director between 1964–68. In 2011 he received the Prime Ministers Award for Literary Achievement for Poetry.
Bland has published a large selection of poetry volumes in New Zealand and the UK and his memoir was released in 2004. His latest publications are Collected Poems 1956-2011 and Hunting Elephants.
http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/writers/blandpeter.html
SIOBHAN HARVEY
In 2013 Siobhan Harvey won the Landfall Kathleen Grattan Award for Poetry for a collection of poetry, Cloudboy, about her autistic son, which was published by Otago University Press this year. Recently, she also co-edited Essential New Zealand Poems (Random House NZ).
She’s the author of Lost Relatives, the book of literary interviews; Words Chosen Carefully: New Zealand Writers in Discussion and Our Own Kind: 100 New Zealand Poems about Animals. She was runner-up in the 2014 New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition, 2012 Dorothy Porter Poetry Prize (Aus), 2012 Kevin Ireland Poetry Competition, 2011 Landfall Essay Prize and 2011 Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems, and nominated for the 2011 Pushcart Prize (US).
She has a Poet's Page on The Poetry Archive (UK), and lectures in Creative Writing at Masters and Undergraduate levels at The Auckland University of Technology. 2006-2013 she was the Coordinator of National Poetry Day New Zealand.
http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Profiles/Harvey,%20Siobhan
MC - ROSETTA ALLAN
Since last year when Rosetta was herself a highly commended poet in the NEW VOICES competition she has had her first novel Purgatory published by Penguin who describe it as “a startling, gripping novel from an immensely talented new author.” It’s a New Zealand Top 10 Bestsellers. We welcome Rosetta back to guide us through the evening.
