14 February 2017

Tuesday Poem: How We Walked Back The Bad News


The report was detailed, unambiguous
And powerful. That was their first mistake.
The second was its clear alignment with the views
Of certain interests, who had been banging on
About this issue for far too long. We were tired
Of listening to their whining. It’s not the sort of thing
A go-ahead country wants or needs. It’s
Negativity, and our polling has shown New Zealanders
Have had enough of that. The All Blacks
Are winning, while across the nation
Dairy herds continue to grow. Rebounding sales of trucks
And utes are all the proof needed to show
That we are on the right path.

Paul Henry and Mike Hosking were our first line
Of defence, manufacturing contempt,
Their intellectual attainments formidable, their scorn
Something only the most practised of politicians
Could be expected to withstand. The report’s authors
Were like lambs to the slaughter, their clothes, their manner
Betraying deep discomfort. And it was soon established
That the authors were academics, a potent critique
In itself. Henry attacked the way the authors dressed. Hosking
Went after the source of their funding. The report’s message
Was lost in the shemozzle. In the morning papers, the
Prime Minister’s photo opportunity with Beauden Barrett
Took pride of place, while on the business pages the report
Came under sustained attack. NBR even suggested
That a sulphurous whiff of economic treason
Might hang over the whole affair.

The report had been discredited without its findings
Ever being discussed. At their respective institutions,
The authors were called in by deputy vice-chancellors
For a quiet word. The importance of academic
Reputation was repeatedly stressed. Funding,
It was implied, could rapidly be redirected
To research efforts more in tune with the nation’s
Wants and needs. Science communication
Was plainly something that should be best be left
To communicators rather than scientists.

A storm in a teacup, a seven days’ wonder
That failed to last even one news cycle. No surprise
That around the Cabinet table there was a general air
Of self-congratulation. The public of New Zealand
As polls and focus groups repeatedly reveal
Do not want to hear bad news, and as the guardians
Of the public mood, let there be no doubt that we,
No matter how great the temptation, no matter
How pressing the need, will not waver in our resolve
To provide ever-more-elaborate circuses
Well after we’ve scoffed the last of the bread.


Tim says: Most of the poems in my latest collection, New Sea Land, were written in 2015 and early 2016. While working on those poems, though, I did take the occasional detour: I wrote some poems about music, a number of which will be appearing in a forthcoming issue of takahē, and I wrote some political and satirical poems that were a bit outside scope for New Sea Land.

"How We Walked Back The Bad News" is one of those poems. It's dedicated to all the scientists who bravely stand up for the truth of what the data tell them against the spin, mismanagement and ridicule of bureaucrats, University senior management, and politicians.

07 February 2017

Dan Davin Literary Foundation – Short Story Symposium 1-3 September 2017


Here's a callout I'm really pleased to share:

The Dan Davin Conference on the New Zealand Short Story – its traditions and departures – will be held in September.

The conference is an opportunity to celebrate Southland-born author Dan Davin as one of the fathers of the modern New Zealand short story, and the development of the New Zealand short story to today.

In conjunction with the Dan Davin Annual Lecture, the two-day conference will be held in Invercargill from September 1-3. Author Vincent O’Sullivan is working with the Foundation to develop the conference programme.

The short story has always been of significance in New Zealand literature, and continues to be an important form of writing. Papers of 25 minutes are invited on any aspect of the tradition, its contemporary practice, and on the work of individual writers.

Some of New Zealand’s foremost writers of the genre including Owen Marshall, Dame Fiona Kidman and Tracey Slaughter will attend. Janet Wilson will also be key note speaker. It will be the first conference for many years devoted entirely to the short story and its place in New Zealand literature.

The conference will include an opportunity to experience the unique south, as well as attend the events which will be held in two outstanding southern venues.

Enquiries and abstracts of up to 200 words can be sent to the Dan Davin Literary Foundation, PO Box 29, Invercargill 9840, or dandavin@xtra.co.nz

[Note from Tim: There will be a mixture of formal academic papers, and informal papers - in other words, writers, readers and critics as well as literary academics can submit papers!]

We also welcome expressions of interest of attending the Symposium and can provide assistance with discounted accommodation.

As part of the Symposium we have an opportunity for visitors to see and experience some unique Southland experiences. And it is our hope that these experiences might be a catalyst for writings inspired by the south whether it be short story, poetry or blogs.

Rebecca Amundsen
Chair, Dan Davin Literary Foundation

Tim says: A few years ago, I was invited to take part in Southland's annual Dan Davin Literary Festival - an experience I enjoyed very much, for the discussion, the hospitality, and Becs Amundsen's excellent organising skills. Now the Dan Davin Literary Foundation has organised this Short Symposium, which looks like a really good opportunity for writers, readers, critics, academics - and who knows, maybe publishers and booksellers! - to get together and discuss the form.

I'm hoping to attend, provided I can sort out a potential clash of dates - and I hope you'll consider attending too!

01 February 2017

Booksellers NZ Says Very Nice Things About "New Sea Land" In New Review


It's a relief to post about writing again - and in this case, to highlight a very positive review of New Sea Land by Elizabeth Morton, published on the Booksellers NZ blog.

Elizabeth Morton says:

You can lick the salt off this poetry, half expect sand to spill from the centrefold. Tim Jones’ latest collection, New Sea Land, is part history, part rattling fortune-telling. It is a slap on the face by a wet fish, a digging up of heads-in-the-sand. Jones has spied a calamity from the shoreline, an oncoming deluge. History is repeating on us, and this time the tide is coming in full.

and:

The world is falling apart at its seams. This is a New Zealand where climate change is playing out. The sea floods Lambton Quay, rolls over childhood homes, and meets householders at their doorsteps. People are left with new geographies of which to make sense. Jones gives us a periscope to a time where myopic vision has crystallised into something tangible. It is only once the impact is ostensible that we realise we ‘backed the wrong horse’.... This is poetry that knows what’s coming, and insists you ‘keep your life raft close at hand’.



I'm delighted not only to get such a positive review, but also that Elizabeth Morton has 'got' what the book is about. Thanks, Elizabeth!

As Booksellers NZ says, New Sea Land is available in selected booksellers nationwide (the link is to their directory of booksellers).

If the book isn't in stock at your local bookseller, you should be able to order it using this information - especially the ISBN:

ISBN 978-0-9941299-6-3
Publisher: Mākaro Press
Paperback, 150x190mm, 74pp poetry collection
RRP $25

and overseas readers can also order the book from Mākaro Press.