LifeLine Poetry Reading
Award winning local author Jessica Le Bas will be reading her poetry at a function at the Boathouse on May 4, as a
fundraiser for LifeLine Nelson.
Jessica’s book Walking to Africa, tells the story of her daughter’s descent into severe depression and into the new and
sometimes frightening world of mental health care. Jessica says the poems track the journey through a mother’s eyes:
“Walking to Africa emerged as a way of exploring the strange mental-health-care planet our family had arrived on.”
LifeLine Nelson administrator Jude Biggs says the poetry reading is a fundraiser and an awareness raiser for the
organisation, whose 40 volunteers handled over 6000 calls last year.
“Many people know us as a 24/7 telephone counselling service but they don’t know we also offer free face to face
counselling sessions,” she says. “Last year we had a 25% increase in calls, which we feel is due to more people becoming
more aware of our services, and the result of increasing pressures on people such as financial problems including
redundancy, relationship issues, anxiety, stress and depression.”
Jude says the theme of Jessica’s book makes her a very appropriate choice for the LifeLine poetry reading. “She’s writes
about depression, which is a subject we deal with regularly - we have noticed more young people calling us about this
and about other issues.”
The Jessica Le Bas poetry reading is at the Boathouse on Wakefield Quay on Tuesday May 4, from 7-9pm. Tickets are $12 on
the door, or in advance at Page & Blackmore’s bookshop in Trafalgar Street. The bar will be open from 6.30 for wine, beer and refreshments. There will be
book sales and book signing at the event, which is supported by SBS Bank.
Jessica Le Bas has been writing and publishing short fiction and poetry for many years. She has won several awards for
her poetry including the 2008 NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for the Best First Book of Poetry for Incognito. Walking to
Africa was on the New Zealand best-selling fiction list one week after its launch in October last year. Her work is
published by Auckland University Press.
LifeLine Nelson receives no government funding, and relies on community grants, revenue from SkillShare Workshops,
donations from the LifeLine Goodwill Shop and the generosity of individuals and sponsors. LifeLine offers callers
someone who listens, and does not judge them or tell them what to do.
ENDS