
Selected Poems
by Brian Turner
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One of New Zealand's most acclaimed and widely read contemporary poets, Brian Turner was a proud southerner, and the landscapes and skyscapes of the central South Island are among the strongest characteristics of his work. His themes range widely and make striking connections - poems about fathers and sons are also poems about the duties of care we owe to the natural world; love poems open out into metaphysical inquiry; satire keeps close company with political protest.
Turner's work is distinguished always by his unmistakable wit and feeling, precision and insight.
About the Author
Brian Turner (1944-2025) was born in Dunedin and lived most of his life in Central Otago. His first book of poems, Ladders of Rain (1978), won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and was followed by a number of highly praised poetry collections and award-winning writing in a wide range of genres, including journalism, biography, memoir and sports writing. Later poetry collections included Night Fishing (2016), Inside Outside (2011) and Just This (winner of the New Zealand Post Book Award for Poetry in 2010). He was the Te Mata Estate New Zealand Poet Laureate 2003-05 and received the Prime Minister's Award for Poetry in 2009.