Glenn Colqhoun poet. “….the heart of a poem is a riddle….”
“ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Colquhoun, Glenn (1964 –) is a doctor, poet and children’s writer. His first collection of poetry, The Art of Walking Upright (1999), is about the Northland community of Te Tii in the Bay of Islands, a village the author has long had a close association with.
The Art of Walking Upright won the Jessie Mackay NZSA Best First Book of Poetry Award at the 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.
An Explanation of Poetry to My Father (2000) is Colquhoun’s second collection of poetry.
His picture book, Uncle Glenn and Me (1999), illustrated by Kevin Wildman, tells the story of a boy and his uncle, a much-admired role model who ‘talks with his mouth full, prays for lollies and burps after drink coke.’
Playing God was published in December 2002. The work received the Montana Award for Poetry and the Montana Readers’ Choice Award at the 2003 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. He was the first poet to be awarded the Readers’ Choice Award in a readers vote. In October 2006, Playing God went Platinum with Booksellers New Zealand, making its way onto their Premier New Zealand Bestsellers list. It is the only poetry collection in New Zealand to make it to Platinum, meaning more than 5,000 copies of the book have been sold.
Colquhoun was the convenor of the 2004 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Also in 2004, he received the country’s largest literary award, the Prize in Modern Letters, worth $60,000.
Jumping Ship (2004) is one of twelve titles in the Montana Estates essay series published by Four Winds Press. The press was established by Lloyd Jones to encourage and develop the essay genre in New Zealand. In his essay, Colquhoun describes his time living in the Te Tii community in the Bay of Islands. After falling out of print, Jumping Ship was republished by Steele Roberts in 2012.
Uncle Glenn and Me Too (Reed, 2004) is the sequel to Uncle Glenn and Me. Follow Uncle Glenn and his niece into their wonderful worlds of make-believe and reality, Glenn sometimes mixing it up, sometimes getting it all wrong! The delightful illustrations are by Kevin Wildman, who illustrated Uncle Glenn and Me.
Mr Short, Mr Thin, Mr Bald and Mr Dog (2005) was published by Steele Roberts.
How we fell: A Love Story (Steele Roberts, 2006) tells the story of Colquhoun’s 10-year relationship with his former wife.
Amazing tales of Aotearoa (Raupo, 2008) is a retelling of several Maori myths, told by Colquhoun and illustrated by Ali Teo.
In North South (Steele Roberts, 2009), Colquhoun creates his own mythology by imagining the northern gods of his Celtic heritage engaging with the atua Maori of the south. The book is handwritten and illustrated by Nigel Brown.
In 2010 Colquhoun received a Fulbright scholarship to research medical storytelling programmes.
He participated in the Transit of Venus poetry exchange with fellow writers from Germany and New Zealand as part of the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair.
In 2012, Jumping Ship & Other Essays was published. Comprised of essays and poems which focus on the relationship between Pakeha and Maori medical practice, the book also includes pieces of oration.
Colquhoun contributed to the non-fiction book Being a Doctor: Understanding Medical Practice in June 2013. Exploring the principles of modern medicine, the work uses clinical tales to advance the holistic training of medical professionals.
In celebration of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games of 2014, Colquhoun represented New Zealand in the Commonwealth Poets United poetry project.
Late love – sometimes doctors need saving as much as their patients is due to be published as part of the BWB essay series in 2016.
Last updated April 2018.
MEDIA LINKS AND CLIPS
- Glenn’s website
- Pacific Island Books
- 12 Questions with Glenn Colquhoun on NZ Herald
- A selection of Glenn’s poetry onNZETC
- Poeticbrandscapes interview: “1
https://thespinoff.co.nz/author/glenn-colquhoun/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK11Ii4sAtw
1. Read NZ https://www.read-nz.org/
This article has been compiled from YouTube videos and information and articles available online.
Rosemary Balu.Rosemary Balu is the founding and current Managing Editor of ARTbop. Rosemary has arts and law degrees from the University of Auckland. She has been a working lawyer and has participated in a wide variety of community activities where information gathering, submission writing, community advocacy and education have been involved. Interested in all forms of the arts since childhood Rosemary is focused on further developing and expanding multi-media ARTbop as the magazine for all the creative arts in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
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