rain and delays,
and a long way south, suspension
on a cloud, books
take you everywhere.
My epitaph may be
that she was a small woman
who spent her days
in small airports flying
on very small
aeroplanes to middle-sized towns.
Editor: Jennifer Compton
New Zealander Fiona Kidman is a leading contemporary novelist,
short story writer and poet. Much of her fiction is focused on how outsiders
navigate their way in narrowly conformist society. She has published a large
and exciting range of fiction and poetry, and has worked as a librarian,
producer and critic. Fiona has won numerous awards and been the
recipient of fellowships, grants and other significant honours, as well as
being a consistent advocate for New Zealand writers and literature. She is the
President of Honour for the New Zealand Book Council, has been awarded an
OBE and is a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to
literature. The French Government has made her a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour. 'On small planes' is published with permission, when you've read it - try more Tuesday Poems out in our sidebar (to the left.)
This week's editor, Jennifer Compton, was born in Wellington, emigrated to Australia in the early 70s and lives now in Melbourne. She is an award-winning playwright and poet, with 'Barefoot' shortlisted for the John Bray Poetry Award in 2012 and 'This City' (Otago University Press 2011) the winner of the Kathleen Grattan Award in NZ. She has also been awarded a number of residencies including one at the Randell Cottage in Wellington, and blogs here.
