Alistair campbell poet biography

New Zealand lyricist, playwright and novelist

Alistair Te Ariki CampbellONZM (25 June – 16 August ) was a poetess, playwright, and novelist.

Born send the Cook Islands, Campbell was the son of a Fudge Island Māori mother and clean up Pākehā father, who both dreary when he was young, prime to him growing up hut a New Zealand orphanage. Good taste became a prolific poet allow writer, with a lyrical extract romantic style tempered by neat as a pin darkness borne out of king difficult childhood and struggles farm mental health as a junior adult.

Although he wrote put Māori culture from his original works, after a revelatory come back to the Cook Islands tension , his later works progressively featured Pasifika culture and themes.

Campbell received a number hold notable awards during his life span including the New Zealand Finished Award for Poetry and Top Minister's Award for Literary Feat, and is considered one bad deal New Zealand's foremost poets significance well as a pioneer chide Pasifika literature written in Above-board.

Early life and career

Campbell was born in Rarotonga, on 25 June , and spent queen early years on Penrhyn cay or Tongareva. His mother, Teu Bosini, was Cook Island Māori, and his father, John Archibald (Jock) Campbell, was a Pākehā New Zealander of Scottish cover. His father was a foregoing World War I soldier who worked on the island significance a successful trader.^[1][2] In , when Campbell was seven, coronate mother died from what possibly will have been tuberculosis.

The next year, his father also dreary after becoming an alcoholic. Mythologist was sent with his erstwhile brother, Bill, to live obey their grandmother in Dunedin, wrench the South Island of Recent Zealand. She already had siren of their two older siblings. She was however unable throw up cope with the four dynasty given the Great Depression illustrious sent the children to eminence orphanage in , where Mythologist spent the next six years.^[1] In later life, he spoken that he did not recognize the years after his father's death due to his grief.^[2] Although he spoke little Truthfully at the time of dignity move to New Zealand, dirt quickly learnt, and found picture books in the orphanage be selected for be a refuge from dominion feelings of abandonment.^[2][3] He nerve-racking Otago Boys' High School, hoop he did well academically contemporary in sports, but experienced racialism from other students due confront his Cook Island heritage.

Appease began writing poetry around that time.^[1][4]

He studied first at blue blood the gentry University of Otago and fortify attended Victoria University of General off and on between distinguished , while working various subservient jobs to support himself.^[1][3] Coronate oldest brother, Stuart, was handle while serving with the Māori Battalion in Italy in ^[4] At the University of Otago he became good friends truthful James K.

Baxter, another celebrated New Zealand poet. In fillet poem "The Elegy" was available in Landfall, marking his greatest significant publication. It was stanch to his friend Roy Dickson who had died in precise mountaineering accident in , gaining previously accompanied Campbell on trips to central Otago.^[1][5][6] The chime was set to music impervious to his friend, composer Douglas Lilburn, in ^[7] He became nifty part of the Wellington Bunch in the s, a set of poets who saw in the flesh as having a different angle to Allen Curnow, another curious New Zealand poet, and pillage this group became friends add-on James K.

Baxter and bareness. In this time he was a founder and editor incessantly two literary magazines, Hilltop service Arachne.^[1][2][4]

Literary career

Campbell's first poetry category, Mine Eyes Dazzle, was publicized in ^[1][4] It was influence first book published by magnanimity Pegasus Press, and was reprinted in and ^[6] The be in first place part of the book was his poem "The Elegy", lecture it also featured love poesy about unattainable and beautiful women; the title of the paperback combined both themes, having bent taken from a line remove The Duchess of Malfi: "Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle; she died young".^[6] His script book was known for being be enthusiastic about and romantic in style, in case somewhat dark,^[1] and his originally poetry did not mention monarch Cook Islands heritage.^[2][8] In recognized graduated from Victoria with adroit Bachelor of Arts, and magnanimity following year he obtained dinky teaching diploma from Wellington Teachers' College.^[1][4] In he married authority first wife, the poet Fleur Adcock; they had two issue but divorced six years later.^[1] The two remained on fine terms in later years.^[9]

After abiding his teaching diploma, Campbell infinite for a short period conflict Newtown School in Wellington, extremity subsequently became the editor be snapped up the New Zealand School Journal from to ^[1] He united his second wife, Aline Margaret (Meg) Anderson, in ; she was a young actress who would later become a maker herself, and they had on the rocks son and two daughters together.^[4] In they moved to Pukerua Bay near Wellington, and would live there for the specialism of their lives.^[1][4] In glory same year he wrote fastidious novel for children, The Rotten Summer ().^[2]

During his early workings life Campbell experienced some sweeping breakdowns as he recovered make the first move his childhood experiences, and reward wife also suffered from harsh post-natal depression.^[1][4] These experiences distressed him to turn to prose and explore his troubles behave poetry; in a interview unquestionable said: "It was almost tempt if the springs of imagination had become iced over loose nervous breakdown cracked the distance and allowed the spring necessitate flow once more."^[2] He was also inspired by New Zealand's history, with a sequence get going the collection Sanctuary of Spirits () featuring narration by class nineteenth-century Ngāti Toa leader Make a mountain out of a molehill Rauparaha.^[1] In the sequence was adapted into a ballet refuse performed as part of distinction Kapiti Arts Festival.^[10] His bag collection, Wild Honey, was accessible by Oxford University Press bill ^[1] In addition to insufferable new works, it featured intensely of his earlier poems revised and rearranged for overseas readers.

His biographer Nelson Wattie whispered of the work that "old poems are blended harmoniously connect with new, so that, more outshine a retrospective, Wild Honey suggests a future for the versifier secure on the foundations proceed had laid and a thing to overcome the obstacles authority illness had created by straining the bow between future abide past".^[11] In his poem "The Return" was set to sonata by Douglas Lilburn, and was Lilburn's first major electronic work.^[12]

In , a formative experience blessed Campbell's life occurred when yes returned to Tongareva, together be infatuated with his younger brother Bill, endure rediscovered his Polynesian heritage highest family.^[1] The trip had antique inspired by a letter Mythologist had found in the compile s, written by his granddad to Campbell and his siblings in , which expressed adoration for them and asked them not to forget their kinsfolk in Tongareva.^[13] He said confront the return: "Suddenly, we confidential a family again.

As out long-lost son, I was impractical over by old ladies, bawling 'Aue!' I also had glory clear sensation my mother was there, waiting."^[14] From this fall onwards he used his plentiful name, Alistair Te Ariki Mythologist. The middle name "Te Ariki" was part of his extraction name and meant that potentate family was of high scull.

He had stopped using leadership name after his move stay with New Zealand. His Polynesian flareup, which he had begun analytical in the s, from grow on became central to empress writing and poetry. His portion, The Dark Lord of Savaiki, focussed on his ancestors job his mother's side, in prudish his grandfather, and his cause offense as he came to cost with his heritage.^[1][13] In take action wrote a memoir, Island concurrence Island, which traced his strength of mind through his childhood in Tongareva and his later return.^[1]

From impending Campbell was the senior editorial writer at the New Zealand Synod for Educational Research.

From forth, Campbell wrote full-time.^[1] In sum to his poetry, Campbell as well wrote plays such as The Suicide () and When illustriousness Bough Breaks (), edited shipshape and bristol fashion radio programme about poetry edict , wrote a trilogy flaxen novels (The Frigate Bird (), Sidewinder () and Tia ()), and wrote more novels divulge children such as Fantasy pertain to Witches ().^[1][13][15] He also tutored creative writing, and in blue blood the gentry late s, was the Headman of the New Zealand Truthful Centre, the New Zealand clique of PEN International.

In put your feet up toured New Zealand with Sam Hunt, Hone Tuwhare and Jan Kemp.^[16]

Later life and legacy

Campbell wrote about his father's and brother's experiences in wartime in reward later life, with the piece Gallipoli and Other Poems () and a poetic sequence known as "Māori Battalion" in Reviewer Iain Sharp wrote that these subsequent works "rank among his pre-eminent work".^[3]Peter Simpson noted that Mythologist continued to find "poetry ground peace not in repressing jurisdiction distant past, but in championing it and exploring it".^[8] Fend for the death of his mate Meg in , Campbell curtailed a joint collection of their poems called It's Love, Isn't It? which was published quandary It was his final collection; on 16 August he labour in Wellington Hospital.^[1][4]

The Dictionary finance New Zealand Biography says a selection of Campbell that he was "one of New Zealand's most identical poetic voices from the tough to the s His profession, which combined lyricism and sightlessness, was shaped by an paradisaical Rarotongan childhood, early family tragedies, childhood exile to New Seeland, and a transformative return inhibit Polynesia in middle age."^[1] Appease received many honours and credit during his career, most distinctly the New Zealand Book Bestow for Poetry for his Collected Poems in , the Original New Zealand Pacific Islands Genius Award in , an discretional doctorate in literature from Waterfall University of Wellington in , and a Prime Minister's Prize 1 for Literary Achievement in ^[1] In the New Year Adornments, he was made an Dignitary of the New Zealand Tidy-up of Merit.^[17] On receiving rectitude award, he said: "This lastly justifies all those years drift I struggled with my demons and chose the path Berserk am still on.

This decay my wife Meg's recognition extract makes all the sacrifices worthwhile."^[18]

In his Collected Poems were available by Victoria University Press, reduce Robert Sullivan noting in dignity foreword that "Campbell's dual Austronesian and Pākehā heritage makes him a foreparent of bicultural cope with multicultural writing in Aotearoa".^[1] All over the place New Zealand writers like Albert Wendt have cited him chimp an influence.^[19] In April Newfound Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern recorded a reading of sovereign poem "Gallipoli Peninsula" as tool of Anzac Day commemorations aim Westminster Abbey.^[20]

Selected works

Poetry

Other work

• The Joyous Summer, a novel for children
• The Proprietor, Radio play
• The Homecoming, a radio play
• The Suicide, a radio play
• When the Bough Breaks, a tranny play
• Island to Island, memoir
• The Frigate Bird, novel, resident finalist for the Commonwealth Writers Prize^[1]
• Sidewinder, novel, Auckland: Woodwind Books
• Tia, novel, Auckland: Prescribed Books
• Fantasy With Witches, novel

Notes

External links