This is Mark's blog.
I was delighted to find my anthology of cricket poetry, A Tingling Catch, mentioned in this month's April edition of The Wisden Cricketer (UK), 'the world's No.1 cricket magazine'.
A Tingling Catch is given a brief review alongside recent cricket books including Gideon Haigh's book on the 2010-11 Ashes Series in Australia.
The link for the magazine is: http://www.thecricketer.com/MAGAZINE.aspx
My poem 'Water' for the people of Christchurch after the earthquake of 22 February 2011 appears on the Christchurch City Libraries blog " Words for Christchurch". It was later republished in The Wellingtonian community newspaper (14 April 2011) in Wellington.
I offer my sincere condolences to those friends and their families affected by the devastating quake.
I was particularly saddened by the death of fellow poet Rhys Brookbanks in the CTV building.
A memorial piece about Rhys appears on the Poetry Archive of New Zealand Aotearoa (PANZA) website.
A Tingling Catch: A Century of New Zealand Cricket Poems 1864-2009 edited by Mark Pirie (published by HeadworX) appeared on "National Bank Cricket Company", Sky Sport 1 (New Zealand channel), Thursday 24 March 2011.
I was interviewed for the show at the NZ Cricket Museum, Basin Reserve, along with cricket historian Don Neely (who wrote the foreword) and Radio NZ National's Jack Perkins reading poem excerpts from the book and talking about the poems that were read. It's a short segment so not all of the material recorded will be used.
The show was shown several times and was replayed on Sky Sport channels. The segment will be posted on the "Cricket Company" web page. Go to http://www.skysport.co.nz/ and click on "Cricket Company".
A eulogy was read by me at the memorial service for Harvey McQueen at Old St Paul's, Wellington, Friday, 27 January 2011. A distinguished line-up of speakers and close friends of Harvey spoke at the service: Roger Robinson, Anne Meade, Graeme Oldershaw, Vincent O'Sullivan, Ian Wedde, Anne Else, Jonathan Else, Fiona Kidman and Colin James.