Guest Poets: David Merritt
Guest Musician: Otis Mace
Emcee Rhona
Koha please for our wonderful artists.
First time readers especially warmly welcomed and encouraged.
when - 08 May 2024 , 7.30 pm - 11 pm
where: Bamboo Tiger, K-Road, Auckland
David Merritt
seems to be one of the few poets in the world who has turned poetry into a full time profession, without resorting to the well worn path of the poetry side hustle to an academic career or other occupation.
Because he remains steadfastly a literary outsider, he is in a rare position to both bite the hand that never feeds him and carefully examine the gift horse in the mouth.
Very few of the state-funded writers will ever do this.
He's forged a career path that is both curious and quite possibly unique in the world of literature by using a Copyleft intellectual model, recycled Readers Digest covers which enclosing a single A3 poem. He's also the inventor of the Poetrybrick and the Poetryrack.
He's written 13 or 14 collections dating back to the mid-80's, his last collection, You Sleep Uphill, was published in 2022 (Compound Press) and he's working on two new collections, Lifeboat Nation and Bunkerland, both scheduled for publication later this year.
Other projects include an LP recorded with the very talented Dunedin musician, David Kilgour (ex-Clean + Heavy 8's) whose work with poet Sam Hunt set a very high benchmark.
His readings are lively affairs, mixing both poetry and strange tangents that may or may not provide some context or historical background.
Otis Mace
– Guitar Ace – has played with a staggering array of New Zealand and international musicians. He spent eight years touring Europe, made eventful jaunts to Canada and the US, and opened for acts as diverse as Billy Bragg, The Violent Femmes, Screaming Blue Messiahs and D.O.A. For over 40 years his love of writing and gigging and his joy in collaborating with fellow creatives has never waned.
Mace’s songs are smart, irreverent, and darkly comic takes on life in Aotearoa. He adds a dose of storytelling to draw listeners into a slightly disconcerting world, describing his music as “whimsical ballads, blistering pop gems and melodramatic reptilian lounge folk.”
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