Conversation by Owl-Light (2014)

Jack Ross, ed.: Poetry NZ Yearbook 1 [Issue #49] (October 2014)

Books and Magazines in brief:

Alexandra Fraser. Conversation by Owl-Light. ISBN 978-1-927242-44-5. Wellington: Steele Roberts Aotearoa, 2014.

Alexandra Fraser: Conversation by Owl-Light (2014)

This is Alexandra Fraser’s first collection, an “examination of a long-term love affair and its consequences.” The author mentions that “her other love, science, now informs much of her writing” – she was for many years a science teacher – and this does indeed give a certain edge to some of the poems included here:

name the fish the trees the flowers
agaphanthus
Metrosideros
houhereoak
kahawau

know where your innards are [“Some memes to shape you,” p.42]

There’s a certain residue of the teacher here, too, I would say (I speak as one myself): someone with information and ideas to impart, I mean: thoughts gathered over many years.

(26-27/9/14)

Poetry New Zealand Yearbook 1 [Issue #49]. ISSN 0114-5770 (2014): 229.

[119 wds]


Poetry NZ Yearbook 1 (2014)


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