IIML
@modernletters.bsky.social
The home of creative writing at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Undergraduate courses, MA and PhD. Also: harbour views and baking.
Reposted by IIML
Awesome news. Denniston is an extraordinary place: a micro forest with giant and unique invertebrates. Most people don’t know just what we stand to lose forever if it’s dug up and destroyed for coal. Maybe the Avatar moth will tell them.
New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Great photos, @frankashwood.bsky.social!
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Great photos, @frankashwood.bsky.social!
New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner
Arctesthes avatar moth, which won nearly half of the votes, was discovered in 2012 and is critically endangered
www.theguardian.com
February 20, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Awesome news. Denniston is an extraordinary place: a micro forest with giant and unique invertebrates. Most people don’t know just what we stand to lose forever if it’s dug up and destroyed for coal. Maybe the Avatar moth will tell them.
‘Any course of instruction that separates knowledge from feeling or reason from imagination, serves only to exacerbate the most egregious ills of the modern psyche.’
"Poetry is intimately concerned with the historic process. It tells us what it feels like to be alive in a given time and place."
- Stanley Kunitz on poetry in a time of crisis
poetshouse.org/from-the-arc...
- Stanley Kunitz on poetry in a time of crisis
poetshouse.org/from-the-arc...
From the Archives: Stanley Kunitz on Poetry in a Time of Crisis - Poets House
The late Poets House co-founder and U.S. Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz argued that poets are “stronger than tyrants” even as the "American myth belongs to politics and power.”
poetshouse.org
February 20, 2026 at 1:57 AM
‘Any course of instruction that separates knowledge from feeling or reason from imagination, serves only to exacerbate the most egregious ills of the modern psyche.’
Great to see that Giramondo has a new book coming from Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle, and is also re-releasing her first book, Autobiography of a Marguerite, written in the 2012 MA workshop and originally published in Aotearoa by Hue & Cry
Out 1 April 2026 ✨ Two books of poetry by Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle, author of the acclaimed Nostalgia Has Ruined My Life.
✨ Leaves Fall Off to Create Drama
bit.ly/LeavesFallOf...
✨ Autobiography of a Marguerite
bit.ly/LeavesFallOf...
✨ Leaves Fall Off to Create Drama
bit.ly/LeavesFallOf...
✨ Autobiography of a Marguerite
bit.ly/LeavesFallOf...
February 20, 2026 at 12:56 AM
Great to see that Giramondo has a new book coming from Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle, and is also re-releasing her first book, Autobiography of a Marguerite, written in the 2012 MA workshop and originally published in Aotearoa by Hue & Cry
Reposted by IIML
here's a beautiful sad essay I wish we would all read
"People ask if I feel vindicated. It’s an evil question. I wanted justice, not approval. No one needed to vindicate me. I knew I was right: I wanted the world to make me wrong."
sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/shipwreck-...
sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/shipwreck-...
Shipwreck on Zombie Road
Vindication means nothing without justice.
sarahkendzior.substack.com
February 19, 2026 at 9:09 PM
here's a beautiful sad essay I wish we would all read
Good news — the Verb Festival will be back in Wgtn this year, with new co-directors Gabrielle Vincent and Kate McDonald. Dates are 11–13 September 2026, with LitCrawl running separately on November 14. Verb will also be delivering special one-off events with international writers, and residencies.
VERB WELLINGTON WELCOMES CO-DIRECTORS GABRIELLE VINCENT & KATE MCDONALD | New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa
authors.org.nz
February 19, 2026 at 10:03 PM
Good news — the Verb Festival will be back in Wgtn this year, with new co-directors Gabrielle Vincent and Kate McDonald. Dates are 11–13 September 2026, with LitCrawl running separately on November 14. Verb will also be delivering special one-off events with international writers, and residencies.
Starting this evening in Wgtn, Tadra Vata: Beyond Islands, Beyond Borders explores the spaces that both connect and separate us, featuring writers Tīhema Baker, Tagi Qolouvaki, Emelihter Kihleng, Makanaka Tuwe, Gina Cole, Story Hemi-Morehouse, Hana Buchanan, Elsie Andrewes, Emele Ugavule and more.
Tadra Vata
www.tadravata.com
February 19, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Starting this evening in Wgtn, Tadra Vata: Beyond Islands, Beyond Borders explores the spaces that both connect and separate us, featuring writers Tīhema Baker, Tagi Qolouvaki, Emelihter Kihleng, Makanaka Tuwe, Gina Cole, Story Hemi-Morehouse, Hana Buchanan, Elsie Andrewes, Emele Ugavule and more.
Ray Ahipene-Mercer, 78, who led a 16-year campaign to get the treatment plant built throughout the 80s, said he felt gutted…’“I thought it was all done, and here we are back to where we were 30 years ago,” Ahipene-Mercer, of Ngāi Tara descent, said. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
‘It’s a catastrophe’: Wellington rages as millions of litres of raw sewage pour into ocean
Abandoned beaches, public health warning signs and seagulls eating human waste are now features of the popular coastline in New Zealand
www.theguardian.com
February 19, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Ray Ahipene-Mercer, 78, who led a 16-year campaign to get the treatment plant built throughout the 80s, said he felt gutted…’“I thought it was all done, and here we are back to where we were 30 years ago,” Ahipene-Mercer, of Ngāi Tara descent, said. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Reposted by IIML
Spoke with several instructors today (and not only ones who teach at Vic Uni) who are already flattened by the AI problem with papers and grading, and not just all the fake citations. More staff and 3x the work needed for each paper, and universities haven't coordinated on a strategy. What a mess.
February 19, 2026 at 3:36 AM
Spoke with several instructors today (and not only ones who teach at Vic Uni) who are already flattened by the AI problem with papers and grading, and not just all the fake citations. More staff and 3x the work needed for each paper, and universities haven't coordinated on a strategy. What a mess.
Reposted by IIML
Poets are winged animals, & can cleave the air, like birds, with ease to themselves & delight to the beholders; but like those "feathered, two-legged things," when they light upon the ground of prose & matter of fact, they seem not to have the same use of their feet.
- Hazlitt
- Hazlitt
February 19, 2026 at 4:09 AM
Poets are winged animals, & can cleave the air, like birds, with ease to themselves & delight to the beholders; but like those "feathered, two-legged things," when they light upon the ground of prose & matter of fact, they seem not to have the same use of their feet.
- Hazlitt
- Hazlitt
The Hamilton Arts Festival starts tomorrow: the oneliner below misses out literature, but HamLit looks worth a visit, with appearances by Tusiata Avia, Kate Camp and others - and Jo Randerson is performing her show Speed is Emotional hamiltonartsfestival.co.nz
Hamilton Arts Festival | Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa | 20 Feb – 1 Mar 2026
Aotearoa's most magical celebration of performing arts - where comedy, dance, music, and theatre mingle and merge.
hamiltonartsfestival.co.nz
February 19, 2026 at 3:35 AM
The Hamilton Arts Festival starts tomorrow: the oneliner below misses out literature, but HamLit looks worth a visit, with appearances by Tusiata Avia, Kate Camp and others - and Jo Randerson is performing her show Speed is Emotional hamiltonartsfestival.co.nz
Reposted by IIML
I enjoyed serving as a judge on the science and technology committee for the LA Times Book Prize this year. The five finalists are all very worthy books.
Los Angeles Times Book Prizes - Honorees and Awards Ceremony
The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes celebrate the best books of the last year at our awards ceremony.
www.latimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 11:51 PM
I enjoyed serving as a judge on the science and technology committee for the LA Times Book Prize this year. The five finalists are all very worthy books.
Reposted by IIML
Interesting to read this. www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politic... #nzpol
February 19, 2026 at 2:20 AM
Interesting to read this. www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politic... #nzpol
A hilarious night for the launch of Kate Camp’s teenage diaries with commentary by adult Kate at Meow yesterday: anyone who has been to the Bad Diaries Salon at the same venue will know what to expect - Leather and Chains!
February 18, 2026 at 8:34 AM
A hilarious night for the launch of Kate Camp’s teenage diaries with commentary by adult Kate at Meow yesterday: anyone who has been to the Bad Diaries Salon at the same venue will know what to expect - Leather and Chains!
Reposted by IIML
On Morrison by Namwali Serpell review – a landmark appraisal of the great novelist’s work
On Morrison by Namwali Serpell review – a landmark appraisal of the great novelist’s work
Serpell leaves no stone unturned in her deep and enriching portrait of the Nobel laureate’s oeuvre
www.theguardian.com
February 18, 2026 at 8:28 AM
On Morrison by Namwali Serpell review – a landmark appraisal of the great novelist’s work
Reposted by IIML
Even though society has moved past them, I like when library books still have the little list of stamps of when they were checked out a few decades ago
February 18, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Even though society has moved past them, I like when library books still have the little list of stamps of when they were checked out a few decades ago
'Reading Iain’s poetry again, is to get his incredible wit singing in my ear, to savour the intoxicating amalgam of music, surprise, love, living and reflecting' - lovely tribute to the mischievous poet, critic, librarian and scholar Iain Sharp, who died in January
nzpoetryshelf.com/2026/02/18/p...
nzpoetryshelf.com/2026/02/18/p...
Poetry Shelf celebrates Iain Sharp (24 April 1953 – 24 January 2026)
Poetry. Dear old poetry. Your rusty relics groan on forgotten shelves of secondhand bookshops – Wordsworth and Shelley bearded with cobwebs,Spenser dispensed with, the pages of both Brownings…
nzpoetryshelf.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:35 PM
'Reading Iain’s poetry again, is to get his incredible wit singing in my ear, to savour the intoxicating amalgam of music, surprise, love, living and reflecting' - lovely tribute to the mischievous poet, critic, librarian and scholar Iain Sharp, who died in January
nzpoetryshelf.com/2026/02/18/p...
nzpoetryshelf.com/2026/02/18/p...
Reposted by IIML
New book is coming! April 2026 - 🐦⬛📖🍎❤️ it’s a defiant story written in a defiant mood 👀 bit.ly/RavensEyeReb...
February 17, 2026 at 8:21 PM
New book is coming! April 2026 - 🐦⬛📖🍎❤️ it’s a defiant story written in a defiant mood 👀 bit.ly/RavensEyeReb...
Reposted by IIML
Good on Sydney Writer’s Festival for programming as they should. “We are an independent organisation and program accordingly…” www.theage.com.au/culture/art-...
Palestinian-Australian academic to headline Sydney Writers’ Festival
The announcement comes just weeks after the Adelaide Writers’ Week event collapsed following a mass boycott when the Palestinian-Australian academic was dumped from the program.
www.theage.com.au
February 17, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Good on Sydney Writer’s Festival for programming as they should. “We are an independent organisation and program accordingly…” www.theage.com.au/culture/art-...
A night of enigmatic, previously unseen low budget gems from the archives of Nga Taonga curated by Una Cruikshank (author of the Ockham Nonfiction Award winner The Cthonic Cycle) will be screening at the Cambridge Hotel in Wellington tomorrow, 7-9 pm
Live Ghosts Ciné Club
Event in Wellington, New Zealand by Sasha Francis and Una Cruickshank on Thursday, February 19 2026
www.facebook.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:26 PM
A night of enigmatic, previously unseen low budget gems from the archives of Nga Taonga curated by Una Cruikshank (author of the Ockham Nonfiction Award winner The Cthonic Cycle) will be screening at the Cambridge Hotel in Wellington tomorrow, 7-9 pm
Our country is a park. We have the high
ground and the low ground. Our mountains
are peace flags and we’re free
to break out of bush, flax, pingao
or any dead-end ideology
onto a charged and open-ended coast.
From ‘The Uprising’, Dinah Hawken,
Best New Zealand Poems 2014
ground and the low ground. Our mountains
are peace flags and we’re free
to break out of bush, flax, pingao
or any dead-end ideology
onto a charged and open-ended coast.
From ‘The Uprising’, Dinah Hawken,
Best New Zealand Poems 2014
New: The government has introduced legislation to abolish the Ministry for the Environment as part of its plans to build a new super-agency tasked with urban development, planning, infrastructure and transport.
newsroom.co.nz/2026/02/17/g...
newsroom.co.nz/2026/02/17/g...
Govt to disband environment ministry as part of agency merger
The environment department will be abolished and folded into a new super-ministry for cities, environment, regions and transport.
newsroom.co.nz
February 17, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Our country is a park. We have the high
ground and the low ground. Our mountains
are peace flags and we’re free
to break out of bush, flax, pingao
or any dead-end ideology
onto a charged and open-ended coast.
From ‘The Uprising’, Dinah Hawken,
Best New Zealand Poems 2014
ground and the low ground. Our mountains
are peace flags and we’re free
to break out of bush, flax, pingao
or any dead-end ideology
onto a charged and open-ended coast.
From ‘The Uprising’, Dinah Hawken,
Best New Zealand Poems 2014
We too are very excited to see this book in the world: it won the 2023 Adam Foundation Prize, so it’s been a while coming, but will be worth the wait!
We're so excited to have this book coming! Lucky Creatures by Joseph Trinidad — a bold, warm, and funny debut essay collection and winner of the inaugural Sarabande Prize in the Essay, judged by Alexander Chee. Out 14 May 2026.
February 17, 2026 at 4:05 AM
We too are very excited to see this book in the world: it won the 2023 Adam Foundation Prize, so it’s been a while coming, but will be worth the wait!
Reposted by IIML
We're looking forward to sharing this with you on 14 May! Have This Heart by Lawrence Patchett is a compulsively readable story collection about men at work, men trying to do better, and what happens when your life doesn't let you hide. Tightly coiled, tender, and unforgettable.
February 17, 2026 at 2:38 AM
We're looking forward to sharing this with you on 14 May! Have This Heart by Lawrence Patchett is a compulsively readable story collection about men at work, men trying to do better, and what happens when your life doesn't let you hide. Tightly coiled, tender, and unforgettable.
70 minutes and counting!
Kate Camp's book launch is at Meow bar, Wellington in 90 minutes! And the rain has stopped for us :)
See you soon, and you can warm up for the event with this great Nine to Noon interview with Kate from this morning...
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
See you soon, and you can warm up for the event with this great Nine to Noon interview with Kate from this morning...
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
Kate Camp and her 1986 diary
The year was 1986 - a time defined by Ghostbusters on VHS, the height of Jazzercise tights, and the only year that acclaimed Wellington poet and author Kate Camp kept a diary.
www.rnz.co.nz
February 17, 2026 at 3:49 AM
70 minutes and counting!
Reposted by IIML
Perfect way to relaunch blog nzpoetryshelf.com/2026/02/17/p...
Poetry Shelf 2026 launches with Robert Sullivan’s Tidbits of Te Tiriti – 5
Yadayada, or Don’t Worry, It all Adds Up(Feb 17th, then) The bunting and cicadas cleared, The Herald having sailedthe middle island for the natives’ trade in blankets for curly iron gall,I snuggled…
nzpoetryshelf.com
February 16, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Perfect way to relaunch blog nzpoetryshelf.com/2026/02/17/p...
