Songs of a poem

The idea was born over Indian takeaways at one of our monthly Ockham Collective kai & kōrero sessions. How about we pair Ockham Collective musicians with the poetry nominees from the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and see what happens? Cue the creative juggernaut that is our own award-winning author, Paula Morris, who put the concept into motion.

All will be revealed on Friday 26 August, National Poetry Day, when our four poet-musician duos take to the stage at SOAP Dance Hall as part of STREETSIDE: BERESFORD, the free Auckland Writers Festival event held at venues around Beresford Square.

Says the festival's programme manager, Bridget van der Zijpp, “This promises to be one of the unmissable highlights of STREETSIDE: BERESFORD. The four Ockham NZ Book Awards poetry finalists are excited about the rare opportunity to hear how their poems will be interpreted by the inspiring musicians from the Ockham Collective. We are expecting some very moving and beautiful moments.”

The poet/muso pairings in the showcase include will be: Joanna Preston with violinist Joella Pinto (pictured above), Anne Kennedy with vocalist Vanessa Kelly, Tayi Tibble with Harpistina, and Serie Barford with double-bassist Eamon Edmundson-Wells.

Click on the Auckland Writers Festival website for more information.