Thursday, March 26, 2009




Poetry for the People

Whether you’re a secret poetry scribbler or a prolific published poet, Montana Poetry Day is a once-a-year opportunity to bring your poetry to the people.

Held this year on Friday 24 July, the nation will celebrate our most creative writers with events from Kaitaia to Invercargill. It’s a day which gives communities all over New Zealand an opportunity to enjoy the written word out loud.
Montana Poetry Day national coordinator, poet Siobhan Harvey says part of the magic of the day is seeing people let-loose their imaginations.

This is the one day in the year when we can forget about our stresses and everyday worries and instead be whimsical and creative - for published poets and for those who just want to give poetry a go.
‘Every year Montana Poetry Day gets bigger and bigger; it’s now a major occasion all over the country.
‘Whether it’s poetry read on buses, stand up poetry slams or multimedia poetry competitions there is bound to be an event to take your literary fancy.’

Ian Wedde poem - left.

More than 80,000 Montana Poetry Day samplers are expected to be picked up this year.

The winner of the poetry category of this year’s Montana New Zealand Book Awards will be announced on Montana Poetry Day. The winner will be presented with their prize at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards gala dinner on Monday 27 July at the Auckland Museum. The poetry category winner is also eligible for the supreme Montana Medal for Fiction or Poetry.

The principal sponsors of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards are Montana and Creative New Zealand. The awards are managed by Booksellers New Zealand and supported by Book Publishers Association of New Zealand, the New Zealand Society of Authors and Book Tokens (NZ) Ltd.

To register your interest in organising a Montana Poetry Day event email siobhanhrvy@gmail.com or to find out more about Montana Poetry Day visit the website at http://www.montananzbookawards.co.nz/

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