Selected Poems

by Brian Turner

This book is the first to represent the full extent of Brian Turner's achievement as a poet, from his Commonwealth Poetry Prize-winning debut, Ladders of Rain, to poems written in 2018. One of New Zealand's most acclaimed and widely read contemporary poets, Turner is a proud southerner, and the landscapes and skyscapes of the central South Island are amongst 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.

237 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Brian Lindsay Turner was a New Zealand poet, author, environmental campaigner and field hockey player. He was New Zealand Poet Laureate between 2003 and 2005.

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first poem I ever read that stuck with me years after the fact was 'Exit' by Brian Turner. I genuinely still want it read at my funeral. He captures in perfect words the humble beauty of his home country, and the way this affects him, in a way that resonates with the feeling I get every time I'm driving home through paddocks at sunset with the windows down. It's something so basic and pure and instinctive it's practically indescribable to me, yet he somehow invokes it perfectly. I absolutely treasure this book.

[Marcus Hobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The feature I admire most about Brian Turner’s poetry is his ability to express so much in so few words. Without skimping on the quality or the emotions. He did this by involving the reader, bringing us on the journey with him and using our response to build the effects.
Here is a great example, Keep it Up, which uses just 37 words:

A farmer asked me
if I was working
and added
he didn’t mean
writing.
I said
I was sawing
and stacking wood,
tidying the shed,
pruning the hedge.
‘Is that work?’

‘Yes,’ he said,
‘keep it up.’

Those 37 words tell us so much about the person, what he did, the friends he kept and how they knew him as both writer and countryman. We see that firewood and a tidy shed are important and to be admired. We see a quiet respect and a bond between the two. We have humour and understatement. Simplicity and depth.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful thoughtful poems

[Kym Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and well thought out collection of Turner’s poetry; I enjoyed reading these poems that seemed to me to be an idiosyncratic exploration of a man trying to reconcile the modern world and his relationships with the all consuming power of the natural world. Inextricably tied to location (Southern New Zealand) Turner still deals profoundly with universal themes.

Overall: recommended.