Poets to visit Christchurch

Press, 3 July 1979, Page 7

Poets to visit Christchurch

Four of New Zealand’s best kriown poets will visit Christchurch this month as part of a sixweek winter tour. Alistair Campbell, Sam Hunt, Jan Kemp and Hone Tuwhare will read at schools, on campuses and to the public from July 10 to 13. Their Christchurch visit will be at the end of their tour. They will arrive in Christchurch from the West Coast. The aim of the tour is, to quote Sam Hunt, “to tear poetry from dusty bookshelves and to .throw poems among the people for whom they were intended.” Large crowds have so far turned out to hear the poets read their works. To coincide with the tour, the Students Arts

Council has produced a 24-page taboid, edited by Sam Hunt. It gives something of the background and personality of each poet and shows how these influence their poems. Nine thousands copies were printed, but more had to be printed before the tour was half over. The poets will appear at the following venues from Tuesday, July 10, until Friday, July 13: Four Avenues School, Christchurch Girl’s High School and the Hillmorten High School; Christchurch Teachers’ Colleges and Lincoln College; the University of Canterbury; and Burnside and ‘ Riccarton High Schools. On Friday evening at 8 p.m., a public reading will be given in the Limes Room at the Christchurch Town Hall.