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Mark Pirie releases new cricket book Poets XI with Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop

Posted Saturday, October 3, 2026 by Mark Pirie
Archived as Cricket poetry, Michael O'Leary, Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, David Mealing, Harry Ricketts, Poets XI

In October, I came up with an idea to compile a commemorative edition of the Poets XI at the Basin Longroom, Sunday 31 October 2010.

The Earl of Seacliff himself was the MC at the event and is also the publisher of the book Poets XI. I selected a team of poets on the day that had attended my launch of the book A Tingling Catch at the Basin.

Cricket historian and writer Don Neely launched the book.

Poets are: Nicola Easthope, Tim Jones, Harry Ricketts, Michael O'Leary, John Ansell, Nelson Wattie, Niel Wright, David McGill, Richard Langston, Don Neely and Mark Pirie the captain.

The cover photo is by Madeleine Slavick of Don Neely crossing the Basin.

An appendix offers some of the New Zealand literature XIs made by writers over the years. Poets XI is a unique piece of cricketing memorabilia.

50 Poems by 50 Poets edited by Mark Pirie now available as a free eBook

Posted Friday, September 18, 2026 by Mark Pirie
Archived as Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, Mark Pirie, 50 Poems by 50 Poets

In 2004, I edited a selection of recent New Zealand poetry 50 Poems by 50 Poets for papertiger new world poetry on CD-ROM in Australia.

The CD-ROM version included flash poems, visual poems, music and hip hop tracks and audio poems.

The anthology has been lost to New Zealand records, but I have now been able to make a PDF archival edition of the poems as texts for researchers and readers for future use.

The 2026 archival edition is published by Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop and is available for free download from my website.

 

 

 

 

Mark Pirie releases new book Black Gold with Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop

Posted Wednesday, September 9, 2026 by Mark Pirie
Archived as Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, Mahinarangi Tocker, Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, Hone Tuwhare, James K Baxter, Meg Campbell

In September, I released a new book of poems with Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop called Black Gold after a break of four years. The book is important to my body of work as it is mostly written in the local New Zealand tradition of poets and poetry and dedicated to James K Baxter who died early at age 46.

Previously my early poetry had been innovating away from this local tradition. 

Poets Hone Tuwhare, Kevin Ireland, Clive James, John O'Connor, Michael Duffett (USA), Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, Meg Campbell and songwriter Mahinarangi Tocker receive elegies. 

Poet and editor Tony Beyer says of the book: "[Pirie's] poems have real depth and maturity, and I applaud their consistent respect for and celebration of the life of poetry. Respect and compassion for people, too. Pirie’s work always seems to have been headed this way, with an accurate ability to make the personal universal.”

 

Mark Pirie edits Basim Furat's Visions New Arabic poems in translation

Posted Friday, July 30, 2021 by Mark Pirie
Archived as Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, Arabic poetry in translation, Basim Furat

In July 2021, I edited a new collection of translations from the Arabic by Iraqi poet/travel writer Basim Furat, Visions.

The book contains new poems written on Furat's travels in Japan, South America and the Sudan.

The title is included in the ESAW Mini Series (being No. 43). Furat was also the first title in the ESAW Mini Series back in 2005.

It is an honour to be able to collect more of Furat's poetry in translation for readers in English. Furat is a highly regarded and award winning writer in the modern Arab world of travel writing and literature.

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