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Mark Pirie compiles an anthology of the ESAW Poetry Prize winners

Posted Friday, February 7, 2020 by Mark Pirie
Archived as Michael O'Leary, Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, ESAW Poetry Prize, Mark Pirie

February 2020 sees the release of an anthology I compiled of the winners of the ESAW Poetry Prize, 2007-2019.

It is published in the relaunched ESAW Mini Series (No. 36).

The winners are: Evelyn Conlon 2007, Will Leadbeater 2008, Jill Chan 2009, Robin Fry 2010, Barry Southam 2011, Jeanne Bernhardt 2016, Mary Maringikura Campbell 2017, Bill Dacker 2018 and Jeremy Roberts 2019.

Here is the link to the publisher's blog:
https://michaeloleary.wordpress.com/2020/02/06/esaw-publishes-the-esaw-poetry-prize-anthology/

Winter Readings 2016

Posted Friday, August 5, 2016 by Mark Pirie
Archived as Winter Readings 2016, Poetry Gees, Jeanne Bernhardt, ESAW Poetry Prize, Bee Gees

July 2016 saw the return of Winter Readings, a popular poetry event in Wellington that I co-organised with Michael O’Leary from 2003 to 2008.

A feature of these events was that Michael and I dressed up as music stars and did tributes to bands and groups that we had admired as well as promoting our recent titles as publishers (HeadworX and ESAW).

This year we did the Bee Gees, whose early work and some of their disco party anthems still resonate with me. It was nice to do a tribute to the Gibb brothers.

Those taking part at our appropriately titled Poetry Gees event were exciting new writers MaryJane Thomson and Polina Kouzminova of Wellington, along with myself, Michael, Jeanne Bernhardt (from Lawrence, Otago) and Rob Hack (Paekakariki).

A report featured on Beattie’s Book Blog, which also included the awarding of the Earl of Seacliff Poetry Prize to Jeanne Bernhardt.

I also edited a small 20-page booklet of the poets at the reading. The anthology included Niel Wright's poem on the Bee Gees first published in my journal broadsheet.

Here's the link: /books/poetry-gees