Writers on Mondays
On this page:
Introduction
This page will be updated when the 2012 Writers on Mondays programme is confirmed.
From mid-July to October each year, the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), home of Victoria University's renowned creative writing programme, runs a series of events highlighting writers active in and around Wellington, as well as guests from overseas.
Sessions take place on Mondays at lunchtime, with additional evening events from time to time.
Writers on Mondays is a stimulating way to start the working week – and it's free!
| Document | File size | File type |
|---|---|---|
 Writers on Mondays Programme 2011 |
231 KB | |
| Writers on Mondays Programme 2010 |
235 KB | |
| Writers on Mondays Programme 2009 |
161 KB |
Writers on Mondays 2011 was hosted by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, with additional support from Circa Theatre and City Gallery Wellington.
2011 Programme
11 JULY From the country of poetry:
Airini Beautrai's second collection, Western Line, was published by VUP this year. Her first, Secret Heart, was named Best First Book of Poetry in the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Jenny Bornholdt's new collection of poems, The Hill of Wool (VUP 2011), was written while she was Writer in Residence at Victoria University last year. Her previous book, The Rocky Shore (VUP 2008), won the Montana New Zealand Poetry Award in 2009. Bernadette Hall's ninth collection of poetry, The Lustre Jug (VUP 2009), was a runner up in last year's Awards. This year she is a Teaching Fellow at the IIML. Chaired by Bill Manhire.
18 JULY Best New Zealand Poems 2010:
As a curtain raiser for National Poetry Day on July 22, we present 10 of the 25 poets whose work was chosen by last year's editor, Chris Price, for the on-line anthology Best New Zealand Poems. We welcome: Hinemoana Baker, Emma Barnes, James Brown, Kate Camp, Geoff Cochrane, Jennifer Compton, Anna Jackson, Anna Livesey, John Newton and Kerrin Sharpe. Chaired by Bill Manhire.
25 JULY Is 'home' where the heart is?
Dinah Hawken and Pat White discuss themes dear to both of them: notions of place and of home; of longing and belonging. Dinah Hawken's latest poetry collection, The Leaf Ride (VUP 2011), shows her continuing exploration of ideas of transience and beauty. Pat White's prose memoir, How the Land Lies (VUP 2010), unravels the connections that energise his creative life as a poet and a painter. Chaired by Bernadette Hall.
1 AUGUST From the country of the novel
Charlotte Randall lives in Christchurch. She was a Writer in Residence at Victoria University in 2000. Her 6th novel, Hokitika Town, was published this year by the Penguin Group NZ. Three of her earlier novels were runners-up for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Laurence Fearnley lives in Dunedin. She has written 8 novels, two of which have been runners-up in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Her latest, The Hut Builder (Penguin 2010), is part of the PhD in Creative Writing she is working on at Victoria University. Tim Wilson is well known as a TVNZ US correspondent and a print journalist. He is based in New York. His first novel, Their Faces Were Shining, was published by VUP in 2010. Chaired by Fergus Barrowman.
8 AUGUST On Page and Stage
Albert Belz is this year's Writer in Residence at Victoria University. He has been a fulltime playwright and screenwriter since 2001. He won the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award in 2006. In 2008 his play Te Karakia, based on the 1981 Springbok tour, was presented at the Wellington International Festival of the Arts. Briar Grace Smith was Writer in Residence at Victoria University in 2003. In 2000 she received an Arts Foundation Laureate Award. Two of her award winning plays, Purapurawhetu and When Sun and Moon Collide, have been published by Huia Publishers. Chaired by Maraea Rakuraku.
15 AUGUST Joy Harjo
Born in Oklahoma, with a Muskogee Creek heritage, Joy Harjo is an internationally known poet and performer. She is also a jazz musician. She has received many awards for her poetry including the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. Her books include: In Mad Love and War (1990); She Had Some Horses (1983, reprinted 2008); and How We Became Human: new and selected poems (2002). She has released three award-winning CDs of original music. Until recently, she taught at the University of New Mexico. Chaired by Patricia Grace.
5 SEPTEMBER Re-imagining History
Tanya Moir's first novel, La Rochelle's Road (Random 2011), is set in mid-19th century Akaroa. Hamish Clayton's first novel Wulf (The Penguin Group NZ), interweaves Te Rauparaha, including his raid on Akaroa in 1830, with a 10th century Old English poem. Harry Ricketts will join them in conversation. His latest book, Strange Meetings (Chatto & Windus 2010), re-imagines meetings between poets of the 1st World War.
12 SEPTEMBER The Next Page (1)
Each September we preview the talent emerging from the MA Writing for the Page workshops at the IIML. This week ten students read from prose and poetry in progress. Natasha Dennerstein, Rosabel Tan, Chris Howe, Micah Ferris, Felicity Price, Ken Heaton, Mikaela Nyman, Rebecca Styles, Gemma Bowker-Wright and Robert Hack. Introduced by Damien Wilkins.
19 SEPTEMBER The Next Page (2)
Another smorgasbord of new writing from the IIML's 2011 MA workshops. The readers are: Rachel Sawaya, Tim Nees, Lucy Kirton, Briony Pentecost, Kate Simpkins, Susanna Gendall, Aorewa McLeod, Hera Bird and Emily McHalick. Introduced by Bernadette Hall.
26 SEPTEMBER Short/Sharp/Script (1) at CIRCA
How much drama can you cram into 60 minutes? Find out as actors perform rehearsed readings of work produced by MA (Script) students at the IIML. Ken Duncum introduces snappy dialogue from Will Agnew, Len Aiono, James Bagshaw, Barbara Burke and Ann de Roo.
3 OCTOBER Short/Sharp/Script (2) at CIRCA
Five more funny, fast and furious mini-dramas by MA scriptwriters are delivered fresh and hot. Constance Gervasi, Alexandra Lodge, Anna Myllymaki, Joseph Ryan and Finn Scott-Kelly are on show with Ken Duncum once again at the helm.
10 OCTOBER 'Gifted' by Patrick Evans
Please note this event will be held at City Gallery Wellington.
Janet Frame is inescapable when it comes to New Zealand literature. Frank Sargeson often found her inescapable when she lived with him in Takapuna, 1955-56. Patrick Evans talks with the poet John Newton about his new novel, Gifted (VUP 2010), described by Kate De Goldi as 'a magnificent re-imagining of a signal moment in our cultural history'. Patrick Evans is Professor of English at the University of Canterbury. He is a playwright and a literary critic/historian. Gifted is his third novel.
