Bill Manhire

I was doing my class reading a few weeks ago, which consisted of a bunch of Bill Manhire poems, and opened my book and read:

MILKY WAY BAR

I live at the edge of the universe,
like everybody else. Sometimes I think
congratulations are in order:
I look out at the stars
and my eye merely blinks a little,
my voice settles for a sigh.

Immediately I recognized part of this from one of the various quote-stones scattered around the harbor. This was very exciting; a full circle experience.

Photo cred: Colin Sorensen

As if that didn't make me excited enough, I just got back from class where we actually had Bill Manhire as a guest lecturer!!! So exciting!!! He is basically a New Zealand celebrity! Well maybe through my eyes he is. What he definitely is is the most well known living New Zealand poet. There are articles about how most of the students that were in his creative writing workshop he taught here at Victoria University went on to become successful authors, too. (Which makes me super pumped that I got into a Vic creative writing workshop)

I'm so lucky to have the opportunity in my New Zealand Literature class to hear lectures from writers like Bill Manhire! My creative writing teacher is a New Zealand author, too! (I've mentioned that before, sorry if I'm getting redundant) Super pumped. This makes me very happy with my course selection.

So yes, the lecture was very interesting. He read some of his poems and explained them, and although I am usually too frustrated with or unsure of poetry that I don't particularly like it, he explained his poem "Visiting Mr Shackleton" before reading it and I think I now have a favorite poem.

I guess in Antarctica there are huts left over from explorers from waaay back in the day that are still preserved exactly how they were when the explorers were there, cans of food on the wall, trash and all. You can go visit these huts and there are visitor books you can write a comment in. He explained how usually when you come across these books they have one column for your name, one for your address, and one for your comment, and you usually try to write something sensitive and thoughtful, but it usually just ends up being banal... and occasionally someone will mix up the columns and write their address in the comment column.
That being said here is my new favorite poem:

VISITING MR SHACKLETON

Cool! Wow! Beautiful! Awesome!
Like going back in time.
Amazing! Historic! Finally
I am truly blessed.

Wow! History! Fantastic!
Wonderfully kept.
Shackleton's the man!
Like going back in time.

Wow! Cool! Historic! Yo!
Awesome! Privileged. Unreal!
And Thank you, God. And Happy
Birthday, Dad. And Thailand.

* * *

So this is something I have not recently noticed, but I have never mentioned. Everyone in Wellington wears black. Black black black black, maybe some dark green. Today in my tutorial, out of about 15 people, four of the girls were wearing the same black on black converse sneakers, and the rest of them were wearing some other sort of black shoes. A woman in my creative writing class explained this in one of her pieces by saying "In Wellington we wear black; it's just what we do."

I thought I'd probably blend in here in New Zealand as far as fashion went. I didn't think it'd be much different from the States... but it is. Someone can pick me out as an American, or at least a foreigner, before I even open my mouth and confirm it with my accent. Wellingtonians do not really wear jeans, and definitely not light wash jeans, and DEFINITELY not a sweatshirt.