Catch Poetry Live! every Tuesday from 7:30 pm at Cafe 39, 39 Ponsonby Road, Auckland. Details on our special guests will be added below as they are booked. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages for more info. Sometimes we get a bit behind with updating the website, but rest assured, we have been around for over 40 years and we aren't stopping any time soon! https://www.facebook.com/groups/poetrylivenz/ https://www.instagram.com/poetryliveaotearoa/ Date Guest Poet

Poetry Live! Tues 26 May Cafe 39, 39 Ponsonby Road, Auckland Guest poet: Amy Marguerite Guest musician: Crompy (James Crompton) Emcee: Rhona Amy Marguerite (she/her) is a poet and peer support worker living in Pukekohe. In 2022, she completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. Amy's debut collection over under fed was published by Auckland University Press in March 2025. Her essay on the new generation of Aotearoa poets features in Te

7:30pm Tuesday 12 May at Cafe 39, 39 Ponsonby Rd Guest poet: Helen Rickerby Guest musician: TBC Emcee: Mikey Lim Open Mic: you! First time readers warmly welcome. Sign up on the night. 5 mins max. Helen Rickerby lives in a cliff-top tower in Aro Valley, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. She has published five and a half collections of poetry, including the just-published My Bourgeois Apocalypse (Auckland University Press, 2026), a poetic collage-essay-memoir crafted out of (mos

Poetry Live! Tuesday 5th of May Cafe 39, 39 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland Guest poet: Michael Steven Guest musician: TBC Emcee: Rachael Naomi Michael Steven is an award-winning poet from Tāmaki Makaurau. He was recipient of the 2018 Todd New Writer's Bursary. The manuscript of his collection Night School won the 2021 Kathleen Grattan Award for Poetry. He is the author of several chapbooks and the collections Walking to Jutland Street (Otago University Press, 2018), The Lifers (OUP, 2

28 April 2026 Guest Poet: Doug Poole Doug Poole is a poet, as well as the creator, editor and publisher of online poetry journal blackmail press . His poetry has been widely published in online and print journals and in anthologies, including Landfall, Hawaiian Review and Trout. Of his work he says, ‘The enduring theme of my poetry and ongoing manuscript of Pouliuli [his collection of Samoan poems], is the expression of being Samoan and Afakasi. It is central to me as a poet

7:30 pm Tuesday 14 April 2026 Guest Poet: Anne Kennedy Guest Musician: TBC Emcee: Mikey Lim Sign up for the open mic on the night (5 mins per person). First time readers warmly encouraged. Koha collected for our special guests. Anne Kennedy's most recent books are The Sea Walks into a Wall , The Ice Shelf and, as editor, Remember Me: Poems to Learn by Heart from Aotearoa New Zealand. She is the current editor of AUP’s New Poets series. Awards include the Prime Ministe

A gorgeous night of poetry & music is on the horizon this Tues with guest poet Barbs Peterson and guest musician Emma-Kate Newlove All welcome to read/perform on our Open Mic - first time readers are warmly welcomed & encouraged Koha please for our sensational artists Tues 7th April, 7.30pm onwards at Cafe 39, Ponsonby rd https://facebook.com/events/s/poetry-live-feat-barbs-peterso/1260419986259891/ GUEST POET Dubbed "the wonky box of poets" by emcee Rhona Stace, Barbs is

Guest poet: Chris Tse Guest Musician: Carawei at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our wonderful artists. First-time readers are warmly welcomed and encouraged! When: Tuesday (29/07/25), 7.30 pm - 10.30 pm GUETS POET Chris Tse Aotearoa’s outgoing Poet Laureate, has spent his tenure lighting up the literary stage with work that’s bold, intimate, and unafraid to challenge. He’s redefined the role—bringing poetry out of the quiet corners and into the spotlight with sharp wi

A special Poetry Live! Join poets featured in Now and then, an anthology of poetry about generations (Landing Press 2024). This is the...

Guest poet: Lola Elvy Guest Musician: Elev8 at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our wonderful artists. First-time readers are...

Guest poet: Marty Bright Guest Musician: Gerry Rooderkerk at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our wonderful artists. First-time...

Guest poet: Peter Rimmer Guest Musician: Gerhard Lottermoser at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our wonderful artists. First-time...

Guest poet: Paris Whitehead Guest Musician: the Curls at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our wonderful artists. First-time readers...

Guest poet: Loredana Podolska-Kint Guest Musician: Caitlin Smith at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our wonderful artists....

Guest poet: Hebe Kearney Guest Musician: Shamus Crawford aka MyCivilian at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our wonderful artists....

Guest poet: Bruce Bisset Guest Musician: Augustus Mac Kenzie at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our wonderful artists. First-time...

Guest poet: Lucie Blaze Guest Musician: Satin Avenue: Alexia (vocals) and Levin (guitar) at Cafe 39, Ponsonby Road Koha please for our...

Guest poet: Daren Kamali Guest Musician: Pale Sauni Emcee: Rhona Koha please for our wonderful artists. First-time readers are warmly...

Krampus Night - A Pre Christmas Special Guest Musician: Leonard and Yolanda Emcee: Krampus Koha please for our wonderful artists....

Open Mic & WACT! Poetry Session - Best Duette / Multi-Poem wins $ 100 Emcee : the Word Jester Guest Musician : Crompy Koha please for our...