News Release

Thursday 14 July 2011

Rotorua to celebrate National Poetry Day

ROTORUA 14.07.11: Rotorua District Council (RDC) is working with the Travelling Tuataras, poet Brian Potiki and Rotorua Mad Poets Society to bring poetry to local people on National Poetry Day 2011.

The group will be distributing postcards of local poems at the Rotorua Night Market on Thursday 21 July as part of the national celebration. Local poet, playwright, scriptwriter, songwriter and performer Brian Potiki will also recite poems at the event.

RDC community arts officer Kiri Jarden says poetry day is a great opportunity to generate community interest in a literary form that probably doesn’t receive the attention it deserves.

“Outside of formal book awards we don’t often get a chance to celebrate the written word in a public way. We don’t have that engagement - particularly with poetry.

“Many of us as kids had a reasonable amount of poetry exposure from international writers; however we’ve got lots of national and local poets worthy of celebrating. We want to support local poets, and poetry as an art form that can express cultures, creativity and stories, as well as share a laugh and basically share a moment.”

Rotorua Mad Poets is launching the book Te Reo Pohawa – The Spirit of Rotorua in Verse at the Rotorua District Library at 5pm on Friday 22 July. The book was inspired by the late Don Stafford who suggested the group collect poems about Rotorua.

The Library is also running a limerick competition leading up to National Poetry Day. People can enter their limericks on the Rotorua District Library Facebook page, or by taking them to the library where all limericks will be on display.

Library marketing & promotions officer Sue Heke says writing poetry can be very therapeutic and another way of using one’s love of words to inspire others.

RDC also encourages local people to support poetry group 3 Blokes at McLeod’s Booksellers at 6pm on Friday 22 July.

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