Elizabeth Smither

Elizabeth Edwina Smither MNZM (born 15 September 1941) is a New Zealand poet and writer.

Life and career

Smither was born in New Plymouth, and worked there part-time as a librarian.[1][2]

Her first collection of poetry, Here Come the Clouds, was published in 1975, when she was in her mid-thirties.[1] She has since published over fifteen poetry collections, as well as several short story collections and novels.[3] Her work has won numerous notable awards, including three times the top poetry award at the New Zealand Book Awards.[4] In 2002, she was named the New Zealand Poet Laureate.[2]

Harry Ricketts, writing for The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, describes her strength as being "the short poem, usually but not always unrhymed, witty, stylish and intellectually curious". He also notes that her poetry tends to feature figures from literature and legends, as well as Catholicism.[1]

Awards

Bibliography

Collections
  • Smither, Elizabeth (1975). Here come the clouds : poems. A. Taylor.
  • You’re Very Seductive William Carlos Williams (1978)
  • The Sarah Train (1980)
  • The Legend of Marcello Mastroianni's wife (1981)
  • Casanova's Ankle (1981)
  • Shakespeare Virgins (1983)
  • Professor Musgrove's Canary (1986)
  • Gorilla/ Guerilla (1986)
  • Animaux (1988)
  • A Pattern of Marching (1989)
  • A Cortège of Daughters (1993)
  • The Tudor Style: Poems New and Selected (1993)
  • A question of gravity: selected poems. Arc Publications. 2004. ISBN 978-1-900072-75-5.
  • — (2007). The year of adverbs. Auckland University Press.
  • Horse Playing the Accordion (Ahadada Books, Tokyo & Toronto, 2009)
  • The Love of One Orange
  • — (2013). The blue coat. Auckland University Press.
  • — (2013). Ruby Duby Du. Illustrated by Kathryn Madill. Cold Hub Press.

Anthologies
  • Jenny Bornholdt; Gregory O'Brien; Mark Williams, eds. (1997). An anthology of New Zealand poetry in English. Oxford University Press New Zealand. ISBN 978-0-19-558338-0.
  • Vincent O'Sullivan, ed. (1987). An Anthology of twentieth century New Zealand poetry. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-558163-8.

List of poems
Title Year First published Reprinted/collected
Last sister Smither, Elizabeth (n.d.). "Last sister". Inertia. 4.
A cortege of daughters Smither, Elizabeth (n.d.). "A cortege of daughters". Inertia. 4.
An error on a quiz programme Smither, Elizabeth (n.d.). "An error on a quiz programme". Inertia. 4.
Two security guards talking about Jupiter 2007 Smither, Elizabeth (April 2007). "Two security guards talking about Jupiter". Snorkel. 5.
The self, for Antigone Kefala 2008 Smither, Elizabeth (March 2008). "The self, for Antigone Kefala". Foam:e. 5.
Plaits 2008 Smither, Elizabeth (March 2008). "Plaits". Foam:e. 5.
Night horse 2014 Smither, Elizabeth (Autumn 2014). "Night horse". Meanjin. 73 (1): 16.

Novels
  • First Blood (1983)
  • Brother-love Sister-love (1986)
  • The Sea Between Us (2003) 2004 Finalist for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards

Short stories
  • Nights at the Embassy (1990)
  • Mr Fish (1994)

References
  1. Ricketts, Harry (2006). "Smither, Elizabeth". In Robinson, Roger; Wattie, Nelson (eds.). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195583489.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-1917-3519-6. OCLC 865265749. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. Jensen, Kai (2013). "Smither, Elizabeth". In Hamilton, Ian; Noel-Tod, Jeremy (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191744525. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  3. "Smither, Elizabeth". Read NZ Te Pou Muramura. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  4. "Past Winners by Letter: S". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  5. "Lilian Ida Smith Award Recipients" (PDF). Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  6. "Prizewinner wants to be All Blacks poet". Taranaki Daily News. 10 September 2008.
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