Reviews:

Southern Ocean Review

Recent Books

It Was a Tuesday Morning: Selected Poems 1972-2001, Peter Olds. Hazard Press, 2004. Price $24.95. Reviewed by Mark Pirie.

Peter Olds is a dude. I have copies of most of his early Caveman books. He and Sam Hunt were our best-known road poets. They were back street bodgies rock'n'rolling their way through the '70s as heirs to Baxter's throne at Jerusalem. Both received long verse letters from the great man and both were encouraged by his genius to forge out their own unique styles in his wake. Interestingly, both Hunt and Olds can be said to have retained their own voices despite Baxter's influence on their writing lives.

This new selection of Olds' work exemplifies this. Most of these poems are tales of experience, battles with the everyday: mental health, drugs, alcohol and the like often using Beat analogies and hipster jargon. A V8 is a prized possession for getting around in most of his early poems and as with his early books Olds is never afraid to stand out from the crowd. Most of his publicity photos from the '70s showed a long-haired poet, handsome and rebellious, likened in the best sense to stars like Jim Morrison or Mick Jagger. So he had the image and the usual rock'n'roll cliches to battle but unlike many a poseur out there, he had the poetry to back it up. He became a poet of his time, linked to the Freed movement in the late '60s but never really belonging to 'their gang'. Instead he chose his own road becoming New Zealand's somewhat misappropriated and archetypal Beat poet. Yet this was not to be the whole story.
Certainly there is a dramatic change to his later poems written since the '80s: they increasingly become more considered, more wide-ranging in their subjects, more literary in their form and structure, whilst still retaining his usual hard-nosed honesty. However, the clever word-play of our new generation of post-Modernists was not for Olds. Instead he has continued to forge a new style, his own, from his surroundings: a small hutt in Seacliff, Otago, 'overrrun with mice', where he observes nature through his window and writes of his ongoing psychotherapy in the city of Dunedin. His Music Therapy collection (ESAW, 2001) produced from this time became one of his strongest collections comparable to the solid feel of Beethoven's Guitar.
Looking at this selection, nicely short and of quality, Olds has carved out a unique place for himself in our literary history and has more to give us in the future. As Olds writes in 'Letter from Seacliff': 'This Indian Summer goes on / Shall I tell you about it / over a bottle of port / in the light of a Chinese kerosene lamp / with the red lava-lava curtain billowing / in the breeze?' Yes, please. In the meantime buy this collection to make sure you haven't missed out on one of our best poets writing how it is for many New Zealanders living day-to-day outside the comforts of suburbia.

By Trevor Reeves
A ROUTINE DAY - Poetry by Diana Neutze. Hazard Press, Christchurch. $24.99 This is Neutze's second book of poems. This book is very mature for a second collection. Diana Neutze is confined to a wheelchair with multiple sclerosis and is the author of a book about that as well as a history on the history of the School of Engineering, Canterbury University. She is a bird lover and a very compassionate person and these poems show the full range of her sensitivity. The title poems about seeing things in a new light even when confined by one's situation. Here, “four little sparrows are haloed with light”. Reflective and contemplative, Neutze is at one with even the tiniest creatures of this earth. A moth 'Trust' “in that brief moment of trust / I had entered a moth's world”. It then flies off. The removal of a tree is particularly agonising, in 'Loss', “… now there's only an amputated stump / spasming against the frost” There's no resignation in these poems, each one shines with hope and a renewing poetic recognition of the life force. There's no going back for Neutze. In 'Demolition” it is all explained. This book is thoroughly recommended.

CROSSWIND - Poems by Paula Green, Auckland University Press. $27.00. Paula Green has been writing for a number of years, but her first book, “Cookhouse' was published as recently as 1997. She is active in the Auckland Poetry Scene as an organiser of poetry readings and other events. This book follows a tradition of excellence she set with her 2000 book, 'Chrome', with vivid, striking and perceptive poems. There's nothing overbearingly academic here. Nothing trite and simplistic, either. Word usage is superb and with lovely rhythms. In 'Epistamadologies: 1-91' there is a sense of place conveyed although no place is specified. What is outside of the mind is also inside it, finishing “we will do everything, but nothing / that has been asked of us, listening to the wind in the gut of the drive”. Fifteen artists complement Green's work and make a great show, themselves. Tastefully and interestingly done. A pleasant surprise for those, like myself, who like to see poetry complemented by the visual arts. This book is a delight and should be in every serious poetry devotee's collection.

HERE AND THERE - Poems by Basim Furat. HeadworX Publishers, Wellington.
Basim Furat was born in Iraq in 1967, in a city called Karbalaa. This book is the first in Arabic to be translated into English, in NZ. There are various translators. What turns out is a marvellously liquid and upfront celebration of life. Furat was inducted into the Iraqi army under compulsory military service in 1990 but left Iraq for Jordan in 1993. His poetry has been published all over the world but this is the first one translated from Arabic. The production of this book is impeccable and the design compact. In “My Ranks Defeated” a memorable line, “I have a spittle of aeroplanes”. This book is deserving of deep reading and considerable attention. Students of history and particularly those who have studied the Nazi holocaust will recognise the agony and the memory in many of these poems. Write to the publisher if you can't find this book in bookshops.

GETTING AWAY WITH IT - Kevin Ireland. Hazard Press, Christchurch. $29.99.
This book is pure, vintage Ireland. Although I have not finished reading it yet (one of the joys of Christmas holidays will see to that), I can se the wonderfully traverse of human emotions that Ireland evokes - but then, you know he really cares about the people he is talking about. From the casual observance that the ultimate death machine is the bland motor vehicle, to quirky human manners, but not running ripshod to he extent where all of our senses go out of the window. Ireland is a brilliant user of words, who does not let himself get trapped into some of the terribly boring monologues that are the hallmarks of some of the more celebrated purveyors of 'the New Zealand novel'. This is a very candid book by a master of 'take it as it comes'. No apologies. We are lucky to have this man here; cherish him and of course, make sure you buy the book.

LEARNING TO LIE TOGETHER - Poems by Diane Brown. Random House, Auckland. $22.95.
Diane Brown considers relationships very important. The men in her life have either served her, patronised her or have cherished her desperately. She has cherished them, too. The title here says it all, I a rather cute pun. Often women, either poets or more likely artists are deemed not to have anything profound to say about the human condition. Brown does, and not only about women, but about all people. Some poems are strikingly bold, like the title poem “Learning to Lie Together'. It shows that we are all dependent, man with woman, woman with man, leaving windows of opportunity, “and I move away / and bounce gently / all by myself / for a minute” Diane Brown does do the stuff of relationships very well. Maybe this is a book for very mature people but I think all ages will benefit from this book. There is a nice intelligence at work here; you shouldn't miss out on it.

UNDER FLAGSTAFF - An anthology of Dunedin's poetry. Otago University Press, Dunedin $34.95.
This certainly is a very comprehensive anthology of Dunedin poetry past and present. It took an age to produce but the sad death of one of the editors, Robin Law, slowed things a bit. This has been a very traditional format but I think the editors missed out on an opportunity to expand this concept to something which represented a wider variety of the arts in Dunedin in order to achieve a wider audience. Never mind, we have a pretty good record here of most of the major works of poetry about Dunedin. That this is a selection by academics at the university obviously means a missing out of some poems with a quirky flavour and even incorrect poetic structures, but overall, it is an entertaining read, indeed. Iain Lonie's poems appeal and does Bill Manhire's piece. Ian Wedde's poem seems to have missed whatever bus he was trying to catch but obviously, you can't leave him out. There's a delightful piece by Michael Wiltshire called 'Purakauni' (note the correct spelling). It needed a sympathetic graphic to go with it though. Peter Olds, master of the minutiae, gives off some delightful flavours of Dunedin as a whole. Some of the poets have continued to write, instead of stopping, evidently, like Helen Leach. And of course, Thomas Bracken simply had to be there. Good to see he younger brigade get in there, like Nick Ascroft and Richard Reeve. Hone Tuwhare and Brian Turner are necessary elements to a good mix. I hope this book doesn't become a collector's item but is read widely.

CATALYST, Volume Two. Neo Ismist Press, Box 3083, Christchurch.
The Editor of this interesting literary magazine is Doc Drumheller, a man of all disciplines - puppeteer, performance artist and a man apparently hugely entertaining. With this nicely produced magazine (colour cover and all), With this nicely produced magazine he has given us some nice poetry to enjoy and mull over.I liked Ciaran's piece, 'Twenty Years' - something elementally wayward here, but nice, giving a feeling of randomness to the human condition. Many pieces are introvert, like Barbara Strang's story 'Jerky 2004', but preservation is the best memory. Congratulations to the editors for choosing some wacky stuff. We need this better than a hole in the bucket. The wonderful anger of 'Johnny Jesus' will endure the survival of the human race we hope. Well, Christchurch is built on a swamp and people there have to keep on rising from it. Maybe Christchurch is NZ's literary capital after all? Ian Smith's 'Fiction' raises some interesting personal balloons but they all seem to blow out towards the end. The graphics, whoever did them, are very good. A nice magazine that deserves a good future.

TAKAHE 52, LITERARY AND ARTS MAGAZINE, Christchurch, NZ. This magazine has been going for a long time, enjoyably, and eagerly looked forward to. It has been showcasing the very best of NZ's writing talent for years. It is published by the Takahe Collective Trust. This dedicated band of people have kept it going from excellence to excellence. Now, arguably, best in the land. The stories are particularly good. A showcase each issue. Some attention is given to overseas contributions, and that is very welcome. We need to get out of each other by embracing others. Make sure you subscribe, see the advert in this issue.

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