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Mark Pirie compiles an anthology of the ESAW Poetry Prize winners

February 2020 sees the release of an anthology I compiled of the winners of the ESAW Poetry Prize, 2007-2019.

It is published in the relaunched ESAW Mini Series (No. 36).

The winners are: Evelyn Conlon 2007, Will Leadbeater 2008, Jill Chan 2009, Robin Fry 2010, Barry Southam 2011, Jeanne Bernhardt 2016, Mary Maringikura Campbell 2017, Bill Dacker 2018 and Jeremy Roberts 2019.

Here is the link to the publisher's blog:
https://michaeloleary.wordpress.com/2020/02/06/esaw-publishes-the-esaw-poetry-prize-anthology/

HeadworX releases new books: football poetry and Collected Poems by Michael O'Leary

In May and July, my publishing company HeadworX released two new poetry books: Collected Poems 1981-2016 by Michael O'Leary and Boots: A Selection of Football Poetry 1890-2017.

O'Leary's Collected Poems is a major compilation of his work to date, spanning 35 years of his writing-life, and at 260 pages a considerable editing feat on my part.

Boots is an anthology of football poetry by international contributors, which was first published as a special football issue of my periodical broadsheet. This new edition features new material found in the past four years, including poems by the late Dannie Abse and Alan Ross (renowned UK poets)

It's a real achievement to publish both of these titles.

For more details on each book, please visit the HeadworX website:

Collected Poems 1981-2016 by Michael O'Leary

http://headworx.co.nz/poetry/collected

Boots: A Selection of Football Poetry by Mark Pirie

http://headworx.co.nz/poetry/boots

HeadworX releases new books by Michael O'Leary and MaryJane Thomson

In October and November, my publishing company HeadworX released two new poetry books by Michael O'Leary, of Paekakariki, and MaryJane Thomson, of Wellington.

O'Leary’s book is a fine collection of his railway poems that I put together in honour of his 65th birthday. O'Leary did not seek this publication, and it is a special book celebrating a significant writer's contribution to New Zealand poetry in English. The cover features an old photograph from the Turnbull Library by W W Stewart.

Thomson’s book, Lonely Earth, is the second collection by her and shows a major development in her poetic since her first collection Fallen Grace. It's a diverse, edgy read and features a mix of styles from minimalist two-line poems to longer poems. Topical and current, it deals with issues like care of the environment and humanity's history, particularly its wars and consumerism.

I’m very pleased to be publishing both of these titles by two gifted New Zealand poets.

For more details on each book, please visit the HeadworX website:

Main Trunk Lines: Collected Railway Poems by Michael O'Leary

http://headworx.eyesis.co.nz/poetry/maintrunklines

Lonely Earth by MaryJane Thomson

http://headworx.eyesis.co.nz/poetry/lonelyearth

 

HeadworX releases cult 1980s NZ cricket novel

My publishing company HeadworX has just released a new edition of Michael O'Leary's cult cricket novel, Out of It, a satirical and comic novel, also a celebration of the 1980s beige New Zealand team.

The novel is a surreal one-day match between New Zealand (Hadlee, Coney, Cowe et al) and an invitation world Out of It XI (featuring Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce...).

See the book information page here for more details.