Milk and Honey. Poems by Michelle Leggott. Auckland University Press, Private Bag 92109, Auckland NZ. $27.00
Michelle Leggott is certainly a very enthusiastic poet, and person Tactile, warm, this is a young person's book for young people. Michelle is nearly blind. Blind writers, artists, musicians etc have many hurdles to overcome. It was wonderful that she learned the value, quantity and impact of 'the word' and can contribute, evidently hugely, in her capacity of Associate Professor in the Department of English, Auckland University. Quizzical and uproarious, many of these poems draw you into her world, which you find is your world too. No room here to single out some of these little masterpieces for special mention, but I liked 'Milk of Almonds/White Magnolia' “there's nothing / in the world / but words / sticking out / their tongues” Clearly a book to mull over, enjoy.

Cassandra's Daughter. Poems by Michael Harlow. Auckland University Press, Private Bag 92109, Auckland. $21.99.
Michael Harlow is certainly one of New Zealand's most well-known poets, and internationally, too. Nearing 70, Michael lives in Alexandra, Central Otago, NZ., practising Jungian psychotherapy when he is not engaged in fellowships etc. A strong tradition of classicism pervades his work. He thinks deeply about the historical significances of his work. I find his poems deeply thoughtful as were those of his not so distant predecessor, R.A.K. Mason. Not as comic, though, as him. It is hard to see a Harlow smile emerge through any of his words. I liked 'Taking a Dream for a Walk' “I see he is just beginning to know / that words can dream again”. But there is more. A worthwhile collection indeed.

Chook Book. Free range organic poetry, edited by Bernadette Hall. The Hen House, 2/43 Cadogan Street, Christchurch, NZ.
Poems by Victoria Broome, Cathering Fitchett, Barbara McCartney, Christine Stachurski and Di Forbes. Nice to see women's poetry done so well. Not a dud here anywhere.Nice to see the varying perspectives of similar experiences. I liked Victoria Broome's 'The Merciful Angel', ending “…with a fruitful heart / she drinks deeply of the river / the more her mouth fills / the more it empties” These poets, have appeared as guest readers at the Canterbury Poets' Collective. I wish I was there! We need more books like this.

Giving Poetry a Bad Name. Selected early poems by Mark Pirie. Earl of Seacliff Workshop. Wellington, NZ.
This is a handsomely expansive volume. It begins with a sort of 'family album' of photos and reminiscences about Mark Pirie, of about 30 pages. Pirie in drag, crossing the street, with friends and celebrities - even with Sam Hunt! The poems prove Pirie's broad strokes of allegiances and encounters. There are few classical references, more, red-blooded pop connections (even Bob Dylan) on Page 248: 'The Dumber Blues'. There's a Ginsberg impulse in here, almost a James K. Baxter frenzy - lots of influences, live and dead. Pirie's later poems are an improvement, but that isn't surprising. It is nice to have a collection of earlier works of a poet who continues to pull so many surprises. Some of the poems here are rather banal, like 'Hitting the Blue Notes', but others, like 'The Lesson' are quirky and interesting. An essential book for the lover of modern poetry.

Make Love and War. Michael O'Leary's poems. Headworx, Wellington
A small book, but well selected from this most interesting of New Zealand's poets. Longish in the tooth, and looking like Ginsberg, the title poem is chilling “he claims the SS troops were more honest / Than the black hawks up . . .“ O'Leary has a piercing view of the world. 'Reality dreams' shows O'Leary's dedication to reality, “Little does O'Leary know / His world is not what it seems! / Reality is all dreams, all dreams” O'Leary's dedication to Graeme Collins 'a man of our times' (see Collins' posthumous article in this issue) is expansive and loving. A footnote to that was my last telephone call to Graeme at the hospice “Hey man, do you know, when they bath me they lower the whole bed into the bath (giggle)”. Days later he died. I'm grateful to Michael for remembering him. I still have the piano transcription of Graeme's 2nd symphony. I wonder if it will ever be performed. This is a book definitely worthy of having.

Volcanic. By Rod Bridgman. Golden Tussock publications, Box 36-199, Northcote, Auckland, NZ. $19.95. A novella.
Ron lives in a hard world where 14 year olds manage to get hold of gin and someone has to clean up. The 'first person' of this novella is not so much a giveaway as a close encounter. Smoking too much, he lives in a garret in Auckland. A recipe for disaster or valiant creativity? “I ran my hands through my long greasy hair” etc. If you can think of anything decadent, Bridgman can outstrip it. Bukowski was a bit of a grub, too, but was rather engaging, at least. Writing 'dark rambling prose' (p.20) is not the half of it. What to do? Write a novella explaining your lingering losses and how to progress to …. P.59. “The features of a sewer rat”. If you need this, read it.

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