ARTbop Photographer, Archival Photographer and Arts Reviewer is also a poet. Lee shares some of his original poetry here.
We begin with the poem Final Chapter. Lee briefly outlines the book, the catalyst to the writing of this work.
Works on Paper by Michael Holroyd. It is a collection of his essays, many, if not all covering personalities. His first two selections are about the writing of a biography and the biographer. He constructs a series of ideas about the author who writes and the fact or fiction ingredients of a biography, as well as opinions of the writer whose bio is the subject of manifold interpretations.
Final Chapter
The Book was
nearly finished;
Forward by
his mistress
Introduction by
his daughter.
After the last
page was turned
The final sentence
full stop, all stopped.
An epilogue – collaboration
by mimic, mime and silhouettes.
Said the tome
was a tomb
Long before
the last chapter
The binding
began to fall apart,
Neuronal threads
blocked and broke,
Mending prolonged
the tau saga
As a sprinkle of rain
on near dead grass
Brings to sight
a slight wet few
Followed by rebrown blades
falling, barren still,
Stricken encumbered
with out cell strength;
No royalties
to disperse
But no worse
for intestate.
A bookmark stands on the heath
like a manikin of straw.
The next poem recounts a mundane experience moved to a level of interest by the talking past responses of the participants. It’s funny but incredibly sad.
Don’t eat the Croissants
I had a very curious exchange today on the way to the car/
Leaving the bakery and trying to cross the carpark to my car, I noticed a woman staring at me. An elderly lady who I did not recognize.
A car moved away from its’ parking spot and I was about to walk to the other side of the lot. The woman continued staring and asked ‘would you lift that bag of potatoes for me, please?’ She had the boot open, other items already splattered inside.
‘Of course. But don’t eat my croissants.’ I said, handing her my small bag.
‘Oh! croissants. They’re so unhealthy!’
‘I know, I don’t eat many.’
‘I don’t know how many years since I ate one. They’re bad for you, you know.’
‘I know, I only put chocolate and cream on them.’
‘They’re not healthy’ she said again, either memory failing or limited vocabulary.
I quickly lifted the bag and put it into her car.
Not willing to leave the subject, I said ‘I know they’re bad. I’ll stop when I get to 50.’
‘You’re not 50?’ she exclaimed, very surprised.
At this stage, I had to admit I was actually well over 50.
She seemed relieved.
We both laughed and went our separate, mature ways.
Breeze blown bracken
Breeze blown bracken
Waits in mufti chlorophyll
Like budding bubbles
In a 360 degree spin of sneeze.
The next series of poems contributed by Lee are relationship, emotional intertwining words expressing both physical states and feelings. Lee has provided the accompanying images.
One Onerous
One is onerous
Two together make
Three in three minds
Four foretale
Five of Diamonds wrap
Six of 3 x 2 spades and sparkle
Seven see you at eleven after o’clock
Eight still too late
Nine past the golden gate
Ten for attention attention:
You’re such a grand design
you must be an invention.
Day Without With
A Day without seeing you
Is like a
Barren tree that once flowered
Birds without song
Sour sweetcorn
Dry water
Noir sunrise.
A Day with you
Is like
Early sunrise
Tasty water
Brilliant nectar
A whisper in the ear
Flowers wafting currents.
Vivid Vortex
Soothed
Yet
Quakes
Aftermath
Smiles
Translation
Your knowing hand
still molds sublime
As weather imparts
slips with solids
Light beams into
bedrock shaking
Like strikes of
mallet and maul
Each flash begins
anew the start
Revive, rejoice, connect
sinews to synthesis.
Pleasantries preserve
platonic plates
Floating feelings
folds forever
And rivers to cross
before we sleep.
Lee has read three of the poems published here as part of the YouTube project Do not leave me hanging by a thread: a spoken word-poetry channel to support the work of Doctors Without Borders-Medecins sans frontieres. The three poems which will be appearing on YouTube are Final Chapter, A Day Without With and Translation.
More photos by Lee Switzer at http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/en/tauranga_city_libraries_history/topics/show/2538-article-index-lee-switzer
Lee Switzer: Lee is a multi-faceted contributor to ARTbop. He is a photographer, an Archival Photographer, Art and Literature Reviewer and a poet. You can see examples of Lee’s Archival Photography on the Tauranga City Libraries Kete. “Remains of the Day” is a recent photo essay by Lee on the work of Tauranga artist Deborah Forkert. He has also reviewed Arts Revealed the overview of Eastern Bay of Plenty creative arts by Heather Hourigan and Andrea Cooper. Look for Lee’s upcoming photo essay on the Rotorua Sulphur Lakes Sculpture Garden If you would like copies of any of the images contributed by Lee Switzer. He can be contacted through info@artbop.co.nz
ARTbop promotes:
BOOK LAUNCH
9th February 2017
For lovers this Valentine’s day
by Sam Eastwood
Art by Rosie Gallery, G7 Goddards Shopping Centre,
21 Devonport Road, Tauranga
4.00pm – 6.30 pm
There will be a number of books available for sale and the opportunity to have
them signed by Sam International published Poet
Supported by
Books a Plenty Ltd – ARTbop.co.nz -Tauranga BOP -Tauranga Writers
Incubator Poetry Group
Attend and be in the draw for a Valentine’s Day gift basket
Sam Eastwood, my nom-de-plume Tauranga, New Zealand My background has been in the graphic industry, and advertising. I began writing seriously twenty years ago. My poems are about love, and the feelings and emotions love brings to us, and are strongly influenced by my spirituality.
I self published my first book, Sam’s poem© and sell as a hard back, print on demand NZ The NZ national Library and the The Hocken Library retain copies. I have completed two further books in this series, now a trilogy of love poems, and one which I have titled Poèmes d’amour & Verset érotique, all yet unpublished. I have just published my second book, Sharing Love – a selection from all my poems now on sale at Books of Plenty Tauranga and through Amazon.
“When I sit and write I find the words come into existence as a journal entry; a poem, verse, rhyme or short essay. They are a reflection of the unfolding mystery of my life, interwoven into the present associated feelings and emotions I’m experiencing they thread through and tie my life’s path together. My greatest hope is for a world of unconditional love for every living being”.
My poems have been published in The Australia Times poetry magazine June 2016,
An anthology published and printed by Allpoetry.com USA
The Tuck online magazine UK,
Alia Mundi magazine, translated in Serbian
Currently the Poetry Editor for ARTbop. www.artbop.co.nz an online publication and as poetry editor, involves sourcing people, poetry, and video interviews. Filming poems read by the poet, and conversations.
The Solid Luck Tour
Shane Hollands & Simone Kaho – NZ Summer 2017
Auckland’s notorious hotpot performance poetry scene is cutting loose two stars on a
nationwide tour – with fresh new books and a hunger for the road. Performance poets aren’t
always published and published poets aren’t always performers, but this twosome do both;
Shane and Simone are polished writers and impassioned performers who light up the stage.
Shane Hollands is a veteran of the New Zealand performance poetry scene. He is well-known for his innovative work with poetical music of differing genres from jazz to electronica to metal, and his efforts to give other poets a platform to perform; he established performance poetry collective The Literatti , and the NZ national celebration of beat poetry, The Kerouac Effect . He was one half of the art-music duo Beautiful Losers , infamous DJ of the ‘Dirty Wordz’ radio show and is the
front-man and poet for the Wordcore band, Freaky Meat . Freaky Meat has featured at The Oa maru Jazz Festival and The Davie s Bay Music Festival, The Titiran gi Festival of Music and
Pran a New Year’s Festival, Coromandel. They have toured extensively around NZ, playing every major city from Auckland to Invercargill and supported Canadian band Ocean Full of Fins on their north Island leg of their national tour. The Atomic Composition of the Seeming Solid is Shane’s fourth book, released in January 2017. It is described by Landfall editor David Eggleton as ‘the verbal vortex of Shane Hollands in printed form: the renegade poems of a whisky priest straight out of Beatsville.”
Shane in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyUOVFCLwO0
Simone Kaho joined the Literatti in 2011 as a scholarship-winning graduate of the International Institute of Modern Letters in Wellington, who count Eleanor Catton and Hera Lindsay Bird amongst their Alumni. Noted for her lyricism and powerful stage presence, she’s now a
performer in demand – at bars like The Thirsty Dog and theatres like Galatos, The Basement and The Mercury. Lucky Punch is Simone’s first book, launched November 2016. It straddles poetry and memoir, as the narrator comes of age in New Zealand’s rich and confusing intersection of pacific and colonial culture. Metro Magazine, The Herald Magazine and The Weekender have
reviewed Lucky Punch with enthusiasm; “I love it – it’s bruising ache, its utter clarity” Paula Green , “Utterly compelling” Anne Kennedy . Simone has been interviewed on TV by Tagata Pasifika and will be featured in Landfall this January.
Simone in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUTsffuJ79U
YOU CAN SEE SIMONE & SHANE:-
Friday 10th February Rotorua
4pm Atlantis books 1206 Eruera St
Saturday 11th February Hamilton Central
11am Pop-Central Library Reception Lounge Civic Square AND Rotorua
5pm Rogue Stage 108 Tihi Road Springfield
Facebook event; https://www.facebook.com/events/1707648499565775/
Sunday 12th February Tauranga
4pm The Incubator The Historic Village 17th Avenue
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Exhibition | Molly Morpeth Canaday Award: Painting and Drawing
January 28 to March 12, 2017
Whakatane Museum and Arts, Whakatane
The 2017 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award for Painting and Drawing will be exhibited across all three galleries at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi — The Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre — and open to the public from Saturday, 28 January until Sunday, 12 March 2017.
Presented by Arts Whakatāne in association with Whakatāne Museum and Arts, this nationally-recognised art award will recognise 13 category winners. The 2017 judge, Felicity Milburn, will announce the winners on Friday, 27 January, including the artists to receive the $2500 Craigs Investment Partners Youth prize and the $10,000 Molly Morpeth Canaday Fund award.
Location
Whakatane Museum and Arts
Date/Time
Date(s) – 28/01/2017 – 12/03/2017
Judge’s Talk | Molly Morpeth Canaday Award: Painting and Drawing
Saturday January 28, 2017 11–1pm
Whakatane Museum and Arts, Whakatane
Judge Felicity Milburn will discuss her views on the 2017 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award for Painting and Drawing at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi — the Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre.
Felicity Milburn is a Curator at Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Puna o Waiwhetu. She works with artists on a wide range of projects, from temporary installations through to large-scale survey exhibitions. Most recently, Milburn curated exhibitions of historical and contemporary art from the collection and beyond for the Gallery’s reopening. She writes regularly about art for local and international publications and is the art editor for the literary magazine, Takahē. This year, Milburn has worked with Billy Apple and Lisa Walker on solo individual projects, and prepared an exhibition on the paintings of Doris Lusk.
This is a free event.
Location
Whakatane Museum and Arts
Date/Time
Date(s) – 28/01/2017
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Hello from Miranda Farm Gallery, The Summer show is now up and open for viewing. There are some sculptures out doors in the orchard, and many beautiful paintings, prints, ceramics and sculptures in the gallery.Artists this year include Michael Smither, Fatu Feu’u, Neil Miller,Christine Hellyar, Warren Viscoe, Clovis Viscoe, James Wright, Uli Christofferson, Samantha Lisette, Suzy Dunser. We will be open on all the public holidays through the Summer, and the farm shop/cafe also. We look forward to seeing you here, and have a safe and happy Christmas from us all. Annie Wilson Miranda Farm Gallery 1107 Miranda Rd 09 238 2608 www.mirandafarm.co.nz Open 8-4pm every day
BOP Symphonia RISING STARS Competition. Applications now open to all Bay of Plenty secondary school students. Entries close February 2017. More info from Maggie Gething, President Bay of Plenty Symphonia P: 021 144 2028
HAMILTON GARDENS: HAS THE HAMILTON GARDEN & ARTS FESTIVAL ON 17-26 FEBRUARY 2017
Travelling through Hamilton and the Waikato? Make sure you take time to stop and walk through the Hamilton Gardens. Forty years of effort on a disused quarry and swamp site has created and international standard botanical garden. Lots of parking, clean toilets and an onsite cafe. Hamilton also has a Museum and art centre on Victoria Street.
Paradox the Street Art Festival coming to Tauranga March to June 2017 – W: taurangastreetart.co.nz
ZOETICA – life – passion – bravery 30 August to 02
September 2017 Tarnished Frocks & Divas in association with Carrus W: tarnishedfrocksanddivas.co.nz F: Tarnished Frocks and Divas
Do not leave me hanging by a thread is a You Tube spoken word project to encourage support for the work of Medecins Sans Frontieres – Doctors Without Borders.
“Medecins Sans frontieres – Doctors Without Borders is an international non-governmental humanitarian medical organisaiton. It delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from health care. It was founded in Paris in 1971 by a group of doctors and journalists who believed that all people have the right to medical care regarldess of gender race religion or political affiliation. There are regionally based organisations. Australia has an organisation www.msf.org.au “
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