Bill Manhire

Little Prayers

Closing this run of Louise Glück poems with a personal favourite

When I taught Romanticism I had a joke that went something like "Men would rather write ecstatic, revolutionary poetry than participate in actual revolution". After the last year and a bit it's changed in my head to "Men would rather write poetry than have their doors kicked in by the state."

Composer of the Week - New Zealand Composers - Greek Mythology and Percussion - BBC Sounds Donald Macleod explores five classical composers from New Zealand - today John Psathas.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/.... Afternoon stroll soundtrack: more outstanding music from New Zealand in Composer of the Week presented by Donald Macleod @bbcsounds.bsky.social

I like this powerfully strange poem by Erik Kennedy from the latest PN Review

Poetry Shelf noticeboard: Featherston Booktown Karutatea Festival One of my favourite festivals as both attendee and participant has a great 2026 programme under its new director, Jordan Hamel. This year’s festival has some terrific poetry events along with…

terrific programme nzpoetryshelf.com/2026/03/14/p...

Poets are in the News Again Don Paterson on why that’s never good

open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending March 13 A bounty of Aotearoa reads.

thespinoff.co.nz/books/13-03-...

The Rainbow Bridge just opened briefly over the harbour

Good news that the digitised Beowulf manuscript has survived the digital equivalent of the Cottonian Library fire, the British Library cyberattack of 2023

Today we published new editions of Remote Sympathy, The Wish Child and The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey!
These three haunting novels make up Chidgey’s masterful trilogy on twentieth-century totalitarianism — confronting, eerie and profoundly moving. Striking new cover designs by Todd Atticus.

Had an inspiring tour today of Wellington’s best collection of NZ art currently available to view: the NZ Parliamentary Collection.

Highlights include these paintings by Frances Hodgkins, Pat Hanly, and the late Philip Trusttum.

What is PN Review?

If you don't know already, you're about to find out ✨

Swipe for the low-down on our bi-monthly poetry magazine.

Start reading today:🔗
pnreview.substack.com/

#litmag #Manchester #poetry #magazine

Poet Allen Curnow’s bach bought sight unseen; now listed after 24 years The late poet built the home for himself and his partner in 1963.

Allen Curnow's orange kitchen
www.stuff.co.nz/home-propert...

The Queensland government has interfered with the state’s literary awards – again Are judges of literary awards and fellowships now being asked to assess not just the work, but the writer too?

The Queensland government has interfered with the state’s literary awards – again
theconversation.com/the-queensla...

It’s beautiful, but its books are downgraded by Redmer Yska When our beloved Central Library reopens on Saturday, and you walk through its beautiful spaces again, look out of the corner of your eye and see if you can catch a glimpse of a ghos...

wellington.scoop.co.nz?p=178323#mor...

This. One rich person could fix it! What is wealth for?

Poetry Shelf playing favourites: Ian Wedde picks two Palestine poems Here are a couple of poems with a location that is important and distressing to me, Palestine, where I had a connection while working in a Palestine refugee camp near Amman in Jordan in 1968/69. Th…

nzpoetryshelf.com/2026/03/10/p...

Composer of the Week - New Zealand Composers - Grandfather of New Zealand Music - BBC Sounds Donald Macleod explores five classical composers from New Zealand - today Douglas Lilburn.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... Evening stroll soundtrack: the evocative music of Douglas Lilburn in Composer of the Week presented by Donald Macleod @bbcsounds.bsky.social

Jenny Bornholdt in a relaxed and warm conversation with Damien Wilkins featuring a generous selection of Jen’s greatest hits wrapped up the Verb Writers portion of the Aotearoa NZ Festival tonight. Jen’s new book What to Wear is terrific too - check it out!

Last weekend I tried to find this on the @carcanet.bsky.social website. It was no longer available but I messaged them on here and they thought there might be one of two still kicking around the office. There was and here it is, just arrived. And that folks is how to do business. Thank you Carcanet.

My secret life as a cat.

@billymills.bsky.social I expect you've already seen this.

YT's Poem of the Week: 'Gaza' by Bill Manhire @pacificraft.bsky.social @carcanet.bsky.social
www.yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/Poem...

There are just a couple days left to apply to come work with us at the Bookshop.

More details about the position here: www.lrb.co.uk/pages/standa...

I have four (!) poems in the new 'PN Review'. I think it's fair to share this one and say buy the mag if you're in the UK. =)

'Attention-Starved Waif' is a very me poem, obvs.

www.pnreview.co.uk/magazines/pn...

No pasaran! 🇪🇸

God bless the Spanish for standing hard against this soulless, brutality. This is leadership:

Go here for a reading guide to @pipadam.bsky.social's Audition! Plus an interview ("I think the most dangerous thing I see is when an author believes they're ‘giving a community a voice’ with complete disregard for the voices that already exist in that community" coffeehousepress.org/pages/readin...

Poets!

Covid hospitalisations climb as New Zealand enters new wave There’s been an increase in hospitalisations and in wastewater detections, and it’s expected to last another month or two.

Thanks to this article, I went from "I must get my booster before winter" to "I will get my booster this week". So today, between meetings, I went to my local pharmacy as a walk-in. The entire process (including the precautionary hanging around afterwards) took 15 mins. Get to it Kiwis #nz