About

The finale of the festival - readings from five of our most celebrated poets, culminating in the presentation of the Lauris Edmond Award for Poetry.

Diana Bridge has taught Chinese language and literature. She is the author of five collections of poetry, her most recent being Aloe. She lives in Wellington.

Bill Manhire is a prize-winning poet and fiction writer. His latest collection of poetry is The Victims of Lightning, published earlier this year to critical acclaim. He lives in Wellington.

Cilla McQueen, poet and artist, is our current New Zealand Poet Laureate. Her last collection, published on CD, was entitled A Wind Harp.

John Dickson has had his work selected for various anthologies including the award-winning An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry in English edited by Jenny Bornholdt, Gregory O'Brien and Mark Williams. He lives in Christchurch.

Bernadette Hall is an award winning poet who lives in North Canterbury. Her last collection, The Lustre Jug, has been shortlisted for the 2010 NZ Poet Book Awards.

Introduced by Canterbury poet and award-winning young adult writer James Norcliffe.