Tag: New Zealand poetry

Dracula’s March: Three Cities, Three Readings, Three Days!

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From 10-12 March, I’m doing three poetry readings in three South Island cities in three days! Below are all the details – it would be great if you could come along, and if you can’t, please encourage your friends in Te Waipounamu to do so. Thanks to the Octagon Poets’ Collective and Canterbury Poets Collective for inviting me to read, and to Arts Murihiku for kindly agreeing to host my Invercargill event.

The Schedule

Tuesday 10 March: Waihōpai / Invercargill: Southland Roots, Southern Journeys: Hear poet Tim Jones read poems of Southland and talk about the southern roots of his poetry

Venue: Whare Taupua, 34 Forth Street, Invercargill

Date and time: Tuesday 10 March, 5-7pm

Poet Tim Jones grew up in Southland. He now lives in Wellington, but he started writing poetry in Southland, and the life and land of Murihiku continue to be a central thread in his poetry. Join Tim Jones for a poetry reading and Q&A session. Tim will read from his latest poetry collection, Dracula in the Colonies, and also read poems about Southland from his earlier collections. Tim’s books will be available for sale and signing at the event, and there will be time for a chat over a cuppa afterwards

Programme:

Doors open 5pm
Tim’s reading, followed by a Q&A session, starts at 5.30pm
At about 6.30pm, there will be time for a cuppa and a chat
Event finishes 7pm

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1415486880117301/

Photo of Tim Jones sitting on a tree root in a forest. Behind him are undergrowth, pine trees, and grass, with a distant skyline in the background. Upslope are roots, pine needles, and grass. The author is wearing a flower-patterned shirt.

Wednesday 11 March: Ōtepoti / Dunedin: Octagon Poets’ Collective, 7pm, New Athenaeum Theatre – with Kay McKenzie Cooke as guest MC, an Open Mike (see Kay on the night to sign up for that) and guest poets Tim Jones and Richard Reeve. All welcome; entry is free, but there is a range of food and drink available to purchase at the Theatre.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/937303555486613

Thursday 12 March: Ōtautahi / Christchurch: Canterbury Poets Collective, Ara Imagitech Theatre, 130 Madras Street, Christchurch. The event kicks off at 6.30pm with an open mike, then there’s a break for mingling and book-buying, then the guest readers start around 7.30pm. I’m reading with Megan Clayton and Dietrich Soakai.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/3937533586552549

Dracula’s Out And About – Auckland and Wellington Readings

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Dracula in the Colonies is heading north, and I’m coming along as minder and general Renfield. Then he’s returning home for a reading on Sunday 15 February in Wellington.

Auckland, 10 and 12 February

I’m off to the big city to read at Poetry Live and take part in the Aotea Square Poetry Takeover!

Tuesday 10 February: Poetry Live, Cafe 39, 39 Ponsonby Road, 7.30-10pm

I’m the guest reader at Poetry Live, Auckland’s long-running live poetry event.

What: Poetry Live, Auckland
Where: Cafe 39, 39 Ponsonby Road
When: Tuesday 10 February, 7.30-10pm
With: Open mike + guest musician Cold Champagne

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1822227305127271

Poster for Poetry Live Auckland on 10 February, showing pictures of guest poet Tim Jones and guest musician Cold Champagne against a red background, with yellow text giving details of the event also contained in the text of the post.

Thursday 12 February: Aotea Square Poetry Takeover, Aotea Square, 5–8pm

Poetry is coming for Aotea Square! On Thursday 12 Feb, the Aotea Square Poetry Takeover is happening, with performances and stalls, and I’ll be there as part of the contingent from The Cuba Press. Come and find The Cuba Press stall – I’ll be on duty with poets Bryan Walpert and Elena de Roo. There are lots of poets and plenty going on in the Square for these three hours!

Poster for Aotea Square Poetry Takeover, 12 February, 5-8pm. Poster shows a poet standing at a lectern.

Wellington, 15 February

I’m reading poems from my new collection “Dracula in the Colonies” at the Office Bar, 124 Riddiford St, Newtown on Sunday 15 February – you’re very welcome to come along, and entry is free.

This is part of the Poetry and Music at Newtown’s Office Bar series. The event starts at 4pm with an Open Mike (make sure you arrive on time if you want to sign up to read), then there’s a break for food & drink from the bar downstairs, then I’ll be reading around 5.30. See you there!

Poster for Poetry and Music at Newtown's Office Bar on Sunday 15 February 2026. Poster shows an author photo and details of the event described in the text.

The March mini-tour: Invercargill, Dunedin, and Christchurch

In March, I’ll be doing three poetry readings in three days! I’ll post full details in a couple of weeks’ time, including news about all the readers at the Ōtepoti and Ōtautahi events, but here is the summary:

Waihōpai / Invercargill: “Southland roots, southern journeys”: Tuesday 10 March, 5-7pm, Whare Taupua, 34 Forth St. Reading + Q&A

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1415486880117301/

Ōtepoti / Dunedin: Wednesday 11 March, Octagon Poets’ Collective, 7pm – guest reader

Ōtautahi / Christchurch: Tuesday 12 March, Canterbury Poets Collective, Ara Imagitech Theatre, 130 Madras Street, Christchurch, from 6.30pm – guest reader

Dracula’s Been Busy

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Picture of Dracula, dressed in black against a dark background

Why so gloomy, Drac? Let the sunshine in!

Dracula in the Colonies, my new poetry collection, has been stepping out into the spring light with pleasingly positive results and surprisingly few scorch marks:

As a bonus, my climate fiction, and climate fiction in general, has had a lovely boost from Claire Mabey in The Spinoff. It’s been a good way to finish the year.

Cover of Tim Jones' poetry collection "Dracula in the Colonies", showing a stylised map of Aotearoa on a yellow background with the title and author name in red

Three Ways To Make Dracula Count

If you’d like to help Dracula in the Colonies meet more readers, here are three things you can do:

  • Ask for it in bookshops: If your local bookshop doesn’t stock Dracula in the Colonies, please ask them to! All the details they’ll need are on The Cuba Press order page for the book.
  • Ask your local library to order it: Many libraries have pages where you can ask for books to be added to the collection. If your local library doesn’t stock the book, please request it.
  • Goodreads: If you use Goodreads and have read Dracula in the Colonies, please add a rating, or even better a review, to the book’s Goodreads page.

Dracula Makes His Debut

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It was a dark and stormy night – no, really, it was! – when my new poetry collection Dracula in the Colonies, together with Mandy Hager’s new “Chasing Ghosts” mystery Revenge and Rabbit Holes, were launched at Unity Books Wellington earlier this month.

Photo of Tim Jones speaking at the launch of his new poetry collection "Dracula in the Colonies" at Unity Books Wellington on 1 October 2025. Author is speaking at a microphone with a desk to his left and bookshelves behind him.
Photo credit: James Fraser

Happily, that didn’t prevent a good crowd gathering to attend the launch, enjoy the lovely food put on by Unity Books, listen to the speeches, and buy some books.

Colin Marshall of the Whitireia Publishing Programme, who helped to put together the launch, also doubled as videographer – here are his videos of publisher Mary McCallum, my “launcher”, poet Harvey Molloy who said some lovely things about my work and my writing career, and myself speaking at the launch.

Mary McCallum from The Cuba Press gets the book launch underway:

Harvey Molloy’s launch speech for Tim Jones’ new poetry collection “Dracula in the Colonies”:

Tim Jones speaks at the launch of his new poetry collection “Dracula in the Colonies”:

Since then, I’ve had a nice My Wellington profile in The Post, although you may find it firewalled. Watch out for more interviews and events to come!

You can buy Dracula in the Colonies from Unity Books Wellington, other independent bookstores, and direct from the publisher.

Next, I’m looking forward to reading Mandy’s book! Here’s my review of the first in the series.

My new poetry collection “Dracula in the Colonies” is launching in Wellington on Wednesday 1 October!

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My new poetry collection Dracula in the Colonies is launching at Unity Books Wellington on Wednesday 1 October from 6-7.30pm. It’s a double book launch: my  Dracula in the Colonies and Mandy Hager’s new novel Revenge and Rabbit Holes.

Image version of the launch details included in this post, showing the covers of Dracula in the Colonies and Revenge and Rabbit Holes

All are welcome – no need to RSVP. And if you invite your friend, friends, partner, partners, or large and lavishly remunerated workplace* along, even better!

*Possibly fictional.

Dracula in the Colonies has received a couple of very nice endorsements from poets whose work I admire:

Janis Freegard: “Tim Jones’ powerful new collection takes us from Grimsby to Antarctica, traversing family life, migration, politics, climate change and loss. This is honest, tender, funny and intelligent writing from a story-teller poet.”

Erik Kennedy: “Eminently readable but never comfortable … Dracula in the Colonies is full of characters you’ll love to hate from a poet whose work we know to love.”

Thank you, Erik and Janis!

All the details

The launch will be at Unity Books, 57 Willis St, Wellington, from 6-7.30pm on Wednesday 1 October 2025. There will be drinks, nibbles, and books for sale and signing.

The Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1159319136008748/

My thanks to everyone who has already said they plan to attend, and those who’ve let me know they can’t make it.

I can’t make it, but I’d love a copy of the book:

The Cuba Press has you covered! You can pre-order Dracula in the Colonies here: https://thecubapress.nz/shop/dracula-in-the-colonies/

You’re invited to a double book launch on Wednesday 1 October: Dracula in the Colonies by Tim Jones and Revenge and Rabbit Holes by Mandy Hager

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You and your friends are warmly invited to a double book launch at Unity Books on Wednesday 1 October: my new poetry collection Dracula in the Colonies and Mandy Hager’s new novel Revenge and Rabbit Holes.

All are welcome – no need to RSVP!

The launch will be at Unity Books, 57 Willis St, Wellington, from 6-7.30pm on Wednesday 1 October 2025. There will be drinks, nibbles, and books for sale and signing.

The Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1159319136008748/

My thanks to everyone who has already said they plan to attend, and those who’ve let me know they can’t make it.

If you can’t make it, please pre-order Dracula in the Colonies here: https://thecubapress.nz/shop/dracula-in-the-colonies/

Book review: Halfway to Everywhere, by Vivienne Ullrich

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Cover of poetry collection "Halfway to Everywhere", by Vivienne Ullrich

Halfway to Everywhere, by Vivienne Ullrich (The Cuba Press, 2024), 70 pp. Available from https://thecubapress.nz/shop/halfway-to-everywhere/

Halfway to Everywhere is Vivienne Ullrich’s second poetry collection, and I’m impressed. The poems in Halfway to Everywhere show a lot of formal ability as a poet, and as the collection goes on, that formal elegance was increasingly matched with subject matter that engaged me emotionally.

Many of these poems take as their subject matter art, historical figures and fairy tales. Mary Queen of Scots, Little Red Riding Hood, Scheherazade, Jack of “Jack and the Beanstalk” fame and the artist Max Gimblett all put in an appearance, as the poet invites us to see the world from their points of view.

“Mary Queen of Scots” (p. 24) is a good example of these poems. It begins:

I die tomorrow. It is a simple thing
and yet it clamps my belly.
I pray for a clean stroke
and dignity.

From “Rutu” (p. 18), a poem inspired by Rita Angus’ painting of the same name:

… how is it we gift
this month with myths of rebirth, when an eye
towards our cross of stars would signal time
for harvest, time for tuning in to self.

I was very impressed by the quality of both the poetry, and the thought that had gone into the poetry, in Halfway to Everywhere. I did find that – perhaps because of the number of poems about artworks and historical figures – it took about half the collection before I started to engage with the poems emotionally – in other words, to connect with them as well as be impressed by them. But as I continued reading, I found poems that spoke to me more directly, like “Footprint” (p. 62):

I hear you. No doubt
it is different in my skin.
I am my peculiar set of molecules
after all, and I have the benefit of
context and the words I left out.

This skill in addressing multiply points of view comes to fruition on my favourite poem in the collection, “Little Red Riding Hood” (p. 48), a retelling in which the dramatis personae all get a turn as protagonist: the wolf, the huntsman, the grandmother, and the girl herself. This poem combines formal ability and sly wit in a way that works extremely well. An excerpt won’t do it justice – check out the whole poem!

Vivienne Ullrich is a talented, clever, thoughtful poet, and as I read through this collection, I found her poems and her poetry sneaking up on me. Halfway to Everywhere is a good place to be.

Koe: An Aotearoa ecopoetry anthology launches on 22 August 2024 – plus recent writing news & events

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Koe: An Aotearoa ecopoetry anthology launches on 22 August – you’re invited to the launch!

I’m delighted that my poem “All That Summer”, first published in my collection New Sea Land (2016), has been selected for this new anthology of environmental poetry from Aotearoa / New Zealand, edited by Janet Newman and Robert Sullivan. I’ll be one of the poets reading at the Wellington launch, which is at
Meow, 9 Edward Street, Wellington from 6pm on Thursday, 22nd August – the same day the anthology becomes available in bookstores.

Please share the event with your friends, fellow poets, artists and activists on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/share/tgMg2PTEwB58NmCL/ – and please come along!

More about Koe

Koe invites readers to explore human connections with nature through a selection of over 100 poems composed in Aotearoa New Zealand from pre-European times to the present day. Including a substantial introduction and editors’ notes, Koe is the first anthology to provide a comprehensive overview of ecopoetic traditions in Aotearoa and to locate these traditions as part of the global ecopoetry scene.

In Koe, editors Janet Newman and Robert Sullivan reveal the genesis, development and heritage of a unique Aotearoa New Zealand ecopoetry derived from both traditional Māori poetry and the English poetry canon. Organised chronologically into three sections—representing the early years (poets born in or before the nineteenth century), the middle years of the twentieth century, and the twenty-first-century ‘now’—each segment presents a diverse array of voices. Across all these time frames, speaking from the conditions of their era, the poets delve into themes of humility, reverence and interconnectedness with the nonhuman world. They challenge traditional Eurocentric perspectives, highlight the significance of indigenous narratives, and wrestle with the impacts of European colonisation.

With more than 100 poems of celebration, elegy, apprehension, hope and activism, Koe gives us the history that holds our future.

New Poems Published in a fine line and Tarot

I’ve recently had new poems published in a fine line and Tarot – thanks very much to respective editors Gail Ingram and Kit Willett for selecting these poems for publication!

Check them out here:

a fine line (Autumn 2024): Tuesdays [a reprint], The Hedgehog Heart In Conflict With Itself [new]

Tarot 8: The Richter Scale (p. 30), Balcony (2023) (p. 47)

Where To From Here webinar for Our Climate Declaration

In July, I spoke to an Our Climate Declaration webinar about the nexus between climate writing and climate activism, referring both to my novel Emergency Weather and to the current political moment.. Thanks to Our Climate Declaration for the opportunity – check out the webinar below!

A Change In the Weather: The Climate Crisis In Poetry And Fiction

Photo of Dunedin writing event described in text

Tim Jones, Kay McKenzie Cooke, Michelle Elvy, Tunmise Adebowale, Mikaela Nyman, Jenny Powell – thanks to Kay for the photo!

I spent a couple of weeks in the south of the South Island in late June and early July, travelling with family and visiting friends. Along the way, I took part in a writing event in Dunedin, A Change In the Weather: The Climate Crisis In Poetry And Fiction on Thursday 4 July, which Michelle Elvy, Kay Mckenzie Cooke and I organised. The event was held in the Dunningham Suite at Dunedin Public Library – thanks very much to Ali and her team for setting the venue up & being such good hosts!

We had six readers:

Tim Jones
Kay McKenzie Cooke
Michelle Elvy
Tunmise Adebowale
Jenny Powell
Mikaela Nyman

and everyone read wonderful pieces! Then, afterwards, we had a really good discussion, covering both climate & environmental writing and climate activism, with the audience. Books got sold, drinks were drunk, nibbles nibbled (thanks to Kay and Robert for getting the drinks and nibbles) – it was a very positive event and I enjoyed it a lot. I lived in Dunedin from 1976 to 1993, and I felt very welcomed by the Dunedin literary community at this event.

Thanks to all our sponsors: The Cuba Press, Ōtepoti – He Puna Auaha / Dunedin City of Literature, Dunedin Public Libraries and the University Book Shop.

Writers on Mondays – August 2023

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Full programme for 2023: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/modernletters/about/events/writers-mondays

Events run from 12.15 to 1.15 pm on
Mondays at Rongomaraeroa, Te Marae,
Level 4, Te Papa


I’m looking forward to the 21st!

7 August
Other Worlds

Pip Adam‘s Audition features three giants: Alba, Stanley and Drew, who are squashed into a spaceship hurtling through space, and must talk to keep the spaceship moving. Tīhema Baker‘s Turncoat is set on a distant future Earth, colonised by aliens, where Daniel –a young, idealistic Human–is determined to make a difference for his people. These works of speculative fiction are exciting, inventive and compassionate in their exploration of systems of power. Dougal McNeill will talk to Pip and Tīhema about these other worlds in fiction, and the mirror they hold up to our world today.

14 August
Lioness

A new novel by Emily Perkins is an event in the literature of Aotearoa. Lioness is Emily’s first book in ten years and is set to be one of the most talked about novels of 2023. Join Damien Wilkins as he talks to Emily about Lioness and about a stunning career spanning more than 25 years, beginning with her classic debut Not Her Real Name, taking in her years in London, her time as a television books show presenter and a university teacher, and her more recent work for the theatre.

21 August
Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems 2022

‘I tried to think of a visitor to our poetry shore—what could I include to show its terrain?’ wrote editor Louise Wallace, introducing some of our poetic landmarks of 2022. Hear Nick Ascroft, Morgan Bach, James Brown, Tim Jones, Anahera Gildea, Michaela Keeble, Frankie McMillan, Khadro Mohamed, and Sarah Scott,  and  read work from this annual anthology in a warm-up for National Poetry Day. Introduced by Damien Wilkins.

28 August
Home and Away: Noelle McCarthy

Early in 2020, Noelle McCarthy travelled to Ireland where her mammy, Carol, was dying, then back to New Zealand as borders were slamming shut. Written through the years of the pandemic, Grand is about mothers and daughters, running away and going home, Noelle and Carol. It’s been a best-seller here, winning the E.H. McCormick Prize at the 2023 Ockham Awards. This June, Noelle flew to Ireland to launch the UK and Irish edition. Kate Duignan talks to 2023 Writer-in-Residence Noelle about the reception of the book on both sides of the world, and what’s left to write after a memoir.

There is no mercy in insurance

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News that Tower Insurance and other insurance companies are considering refusing to insure houses in flood-prone areas reminded me of “Written Off”, a poem from my 2016 collection New Sea Land.

The set of climate change consequences outlined in this poem were not difficult to come up with. Perhaps, if our “leaders” had spent more time thinking about consequences and less time bowing and scraping to vested interests, we wouldn’t be in quite such a deep hole seven years after this poem was first published.

Written Off

They had insured

and re-insured,

still it was not enough.

They hunched over maps,

consulted climate science.

Beachfront property

went with the stroke of a pen:

no possible premium

could insure that level of risk.

And floodplains:

why do people choose to build on them?

Bigger floods, more often: gone.

East coast farmers, eyeball-deep

in debt, haunted by drought,

desperate to irrigate:

you backed the wrong horse.

Low-lying suburbs, factories

built next to streams:

there is no mercy

in insurance. The numbers speak,

and then there is no mercy.