O me voy o te vas One of us must go by Rogelio Guedea (Translations Roger Hickin)

What a fabulous book this is. One long poem written in chapters, on LH page Spanish original text and opposite on RH page translation in English. This wonderful ode to love will have you in stitches and move you to tears as you follow this couple in their daily lives. Small differences of opinion, unique ways of doing things, habit and routine, the person you love singing off-key in the shower, these are a few examples of what makes this book a wonderfully down-to-earth ode to love. Navigating a relationship that is not new is explored throughout the book and towards the end there are some moving revelations.

Mexican-born poet and novelist Rogelio Guedea is the award-winning author of more than 40 books. His poetry collection Kora was awarded the prestigious Spanish Premio Adonáis de Poesía in 2008, and in 2013 his novel, El crimen de Los Tepames (Mondadori), was one of the top five best-selling novels in Mexico. Rogelio was coordinator of the University of Otago Spanish Programme and Associate Professor of Spanish from 2008–2016.

Roger Hickin (Cold Hub Press) has published translations of a number of Latin American poets, among them the Nicaraguans Ernesto Cardenal, Blanca Castellón, Carlos Martínez Rivas and Joaquín Pasos, as well as two previous collections by Rogelio Guedea, Si no te hubieras ido/If only you hadn’t gone and Punctuation.

Seriously recommended.

Tāngata Ngāi Tahu: People of Ngāi Tahu, Volume Two by Helen Brown and Michael J. Stevens (Eds)

Tāngata Ngāi Tahu, Volume Two remembers and celebrates the rich and diverse lives of the people of Ngāi Tahu. Spanning time, geography and kaupapa, some fifty biographies bring Ngāi Tahu history into the present. The people in the book have contributed to their iwi, hapū, and whānau in a myriad of ways: there are wāhine toa, rangatira and tohunga, community leaders, activists and scholars, social workers, politicians, fishermen and farmers, sportspeople, adventurers, weavers, performers, and many more. All are descendants of Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu; united by whakapapa, they are Tāngata Ngāi Tahu. Produced by the Ngāi Tahu Archive Team, this second volume builds on the success of Tāngata Ngāi Tahu, Volume One. With a special emphasis on mana wāhine, more than half of the biographies in Volume Two celebrate the stories of Ngāi Tahu women. The book is beautifully and generously illustrated with hundreds of photographs sourced from the Ngāi Tahu archive, external institutions and whānau collections. Together these images constitute a tribal family album that is a taonga tuku iho.

This book will be of special interest to local readers because of the vast content in the book relating to the history of Otago and its early inhabitants. A great resource and immensely informative and enjoyable!

Dynamics/Memory/Grace: Peter Nicholls– Sculptor, by Don Hunter

This wonderfully produced book is a glorious celebration of some of Peter Nicholls' magnificent sculptures. Finding inspiration in the world around him and then working in harmony with natural components (including tree planting) and celebrating the concept of ‘land’ and ‘place’ that is both internationalist and of New Zealand, is the hallmark of Nicholls’ works.

The book is filled with amazing examples of taonga, sculptures that are bedded in place, that are strong, confident, defying norms of building practice and design. Throughout the book there are insightful reviews and Peter’s studio notes help the reader understand the sheer genius, creative risk planning and execution that pushed boundaries and will continue to do so for future generations.

This is a stunning book and readers will get to appreciate the logistical and technological challenges that Peter Nicholls was able to overcome and master during his long and successful career. This book is a revelation to some of his most well-known sculptures and installations. Highly recommended reading!

Out of the Jaws of Wesley: 1944-1972 A Record: Peter Olds, selected and edited by Roger Hickin

This history presents prose, letters to parents, early poems and drawings, and provides a comprehensive picture of the early struggles Peter Olds overcame to achieve great success in becoming one of Ōtepoti Dunedin’s most significant poets. Peter Olds was a Burns Fellow at the University of Otago in 1978 and in 2005 was the first recipient of the Janet Frame Literary Trust Award for Poetry.

The book captures the inner demons Peter conquered early on. The book is a snapshot of 1960’s/70’s when the world was changing, and many people including Peter, were having difficulty finding their place in it. Falling in with Baxter and ‘living the dream’ in Jerusalem for a time reinforces what many of the writings confirm; he was looking to find his own voice! Peter had to undergo long periods of therapy to kick his addictions as this dependence was holding him back physically and emotionally. What is not surprising and will delight fans, is that despite the despair of his situation, there is that remarkable lightness, and well observed truth, that is always present in Peter’s works, however disturbing the subject matter may be.

Congratulations must go to Roger Hickin and Cold Hub Press for editing and publishing this book. Peter Olds has numerous poetry books to his credit and Out of the Jaws of Wesley is a unique companion to this collection. Peter Olds is the latest addition to the Dunedin Writer’s Walk and our city features prominently throughout the book. Highly recommended!

Home is an Island: A Writer’s Tribute to the Islands of Aotearoa New Zealand by Neville Peat

Neville Peat has been a writer for over 50 years, and during his working life has visited many of the islands within Aotearoa’s marine realm. All these islands are written about in the order that the author first visited them.

Part memoir, part adventure travel, history and nature conservation, the book gives a fascinating and insightful history of his experiences and the camaraderie and friendships that he made during his working life.

The book is an excellent read and is peppered with some wonderful photos. The narrative features Stewart Island/Rakiura, Anchor Island in Tamatea/Dusky Sound, Kapiti Island and Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf. Further afield, the book also covers Ross Island in Antarctica, Enderby Island in the subantarctic Auckland Islands, the Chatham Islands and the New Zealand dependency of Tokelau.

I especially love the cover image, the rock formations in the foreground are magnificent, with jewel-shaped clusters, pointing skywards and looking out over the surf below. Highly recommended!

Lunar by Kirstie McKinnon

This is a book of short, daily poems and photographs about uncertainty. The collection is called Lunar for the dark, the indefinite light, and the reliable orbit of the moon.

Kirstie McKinnon lives, writes and surfs in Dunedin and I have long been a fan of her poetry. She conjures up vivid landscapes, smells, sounds, and the tenuous sense of wanting to belong that is ever-present when immersed in the sea.

“…
will you trust me with
my longboard in a two-foot
south-east swell?
absolutely not
as you’ll no doubt be aware
all of us could drown” (from xi. law 1)

This self-published book is beautifully bound and has the thoughtful design feature of a green twine bookmark incorporated into the binding; it is as if the writer is confident (and she should be) that readers will want to place the marker and absorb the poetry and images within, time and time again. The poetry is a celebration of the coastal environment, and the treasures that it contains for those who take the time to look. A real treat!

1v. displaced
willow leaf
on sand
in the root cave
of a wave washed weary pine
river gold gleam
in the wrong place
next to seaweed
and other strange cousins
yet, here we are
together

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