Completed on 12 June 2021, just two days before Sir Eion Edgar passed away, ‘A Pindaric Ode to Sir Eion Edgar’ by New
Zealand poet Bernard Cadogan considers in plain accessible language the qualities that made Sir Eion a life-changing man
for so many people, and assesses his role in the economic turnaround of Otago.
‘The exemplar of New Zealand public virtue and philanthropy’, said Bernard Cadogan, ‘this poetic tribute to him – “A
Pindaric Ode to Sir Eion Edgar” – is based on the sports poetry that the ancient Greek poet Pindar wrote for the Olympic
Games,’ said Cadogan.
Bernard Cadogan knew of Sir Eion's generosity during his residence in Dunedin, and through his work in the Ministerial
and Parliamentary Services. Bernard Cadogan now lives near Oxford, in the UK.
‘Poetry of late has been too concerned with the self or purely private worlds’, said Cadogan. ‘My tribute to Sir Eoin,
“A Pindaric Ode to Sir Eion Edgar” initiates a new public and civic verse that celebrates the New Zealand spirit of
sports success, business success, and success for the whole community.’
‘Crete 1941’ – the forthcoming epic of the Battle of Crete by Bernard Cadogan – will be released later this year by
Tuwhiri. Tuwhiri publisher, Ramsey Margolis, said that ‘“The Pindaric Ode for Sir Eion Edgar” and “Crete 1941” will take
New Zealanders into new poetic space in which our society is validated for its values of social inclusion and
generosity.’
‘With a foreword by Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, ”Crete 1941” promises to join the “A Pindaric Ode to Sir Eion Edgar” as a
profound affirmation of the New Zealand way of life,’ said Margolis.
The Ode is online at http://egeria.co.nz/poetry/pindaric-ode-to-sir-eion-edgar