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It's paradoxical that a writer with such a distaste for dogma as Bill Manhire should have come to occupy such an influential position in this nation's literary life. As anthologist, essayist, broadcaster and most notably as a teacher of creative writing, he has worked tirelessly on behalf of New Zealand literature. As the recipient of five national poetry awards and many other honours, Manhire continues to avoid cruise mode, and the current decade finds him in peak form. Andrew Johnston has called Lifted "the best book of New Zealand poetry that's ever been written". The Victims of Lightning, which will be launched during New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week 2010, offers an equally stunning set of lyrics, lists, incantations and quizzical portraits that sidles up to literature's big themes. Manhire's trademark feints and parodies are on full display in this new collection, one which relies on a sly humour laced with melancholy, and the poet's regard for the way language both haunts and soothes. Join him in conversation with Steve Braunias.
Image: Ed Swinden
