Photo caption: Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith presented the 2024 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry to Apirana Taylor at a ceremony in Wellington last night. Photo credit: Neil Mackenzie (Creative New Zealand)
Presented with the prestigious award at a ceremony in Wellington last night, Taylor is celebrated as one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most prolific and versatile writers.
in the cracks of light, Apirana Taylor's seventh book of poetry and fourth collection with Canterbury University Press (CUP), includes seventy-three short poems that challenge our conceptions of poetic form. They are minimalist in construction but ambitious in emotional impact. They burst out of their small spaces like gas expanding in a cylinder and pushing a piston. They expertly inhabit both the natural and the political worlds, sometimes simultaneously, because Taylor is wise enough to know that they can't be separated, especially in a colonised land.
"Apirana Taylor has built a reputation as one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most popular and accessible poets,” says CUP publisher Catherine Montgomery. “His passion for language and his belief in the power of poetry have made him a natural ambassador for reading, especially through his visits to schools and we were thrilled to learn that his skill and dedication have been recognised by the prestigious 2024 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry.”
Apirana Taylor is a poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer, storyteller, actor, painter and musician. His prose and poems have been translated into many languages and are included in many nationally and internationally published anthologies. Apirana travels to schools, tertiary institutions and prisons throughout New Zealand to read his poetry, tell his stories and take creative writing workshops. He has now published seven collections of poetry, three collections of short stories, two novels and three plays. Apirana is of Māori and Pākehā descent, with proud affiliation to Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Ruanui.
The Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement is presented annually in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and poetry; and take into consideration writers’ national acclaim, international recognition, and leadership within the New Zealand literary sector.
“Apirana Taylor’s poetry is product of years of experience writing and performing for the eye, the ear and the stage as an actor and teacher,” said Kent Gardner, Chair of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa. The award is managed by Creative New Zealand and decided by the Arts Council following public nominations and recommendations from an external panel of experts.
in the cracks of light is available in bookstores, including UBS Canterbury, and through Canterbury University Press.
