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Past event

Poets Respond to Hilma af Klint: The Secret Paintings

2.30pm Sunday 27 March

Hilma af Klint used her art to explore and map the spiritual realm to lead audiences on a journey of transformation through her innovative abstract language. On the closing day of The Secret Paintings hear local poets perform new work inspired by Hilma and her work as they explore the limits of language, reaching for what is beyond the visible. 

We are excited to have Rebecca Hawkes, Stacey Teague, Ash Davida Jane, Leah Dodd, and Carolyn DeCarlo join us to share their responses, who have been brought together by Sinead Overbye. 

Poets responses were published by The Pantograph Punch.

No booking required but please ensure you observe social distancing when visiting. 

Stacey Teague (Ngāti Maniapoto/Ngāpuhi) is a writer, editor and teacher living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. 

Rebecca Hawkes is a poet and painter living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Her first book Meat Lovers, a gory, gravy-drenched new collection of poems, is due soon from Auckland University Press. You can find more of her work in places like Stasis, Starling, Landfall, and her chapbook Softcore coldsores in AUP New Poets 5. Rebecca co-edits local literary journal Sweet Mammalian and is a founding member of the Show Ponies popstar-poets' posse. She is also a co-editor for No Other Place To Stand, a forthcoming anthology of climate change poetry. 

Ash Davida Jane is the author of two poetry collections, most recently How to Live With Mammals (Te Herenga Waka University Press). She won second prize in the 2021 Laurel Prize. Jane is an editor for We Are Babies press, and a reviewer for Radio New Zealand. She lives and works in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. 

Leah Dodd is a writer living in Wellington. In 2021 she completed an MA in creative writing at the IIML, where she won the Biggs Family Prize in Poetry. Her work has been published in various places, and can be found at www.leah-dodd.com.  

Carolyn DeCarlo lives in Aro Valley. Caro's chapbook, Winter Swimmers, was published in AUP New Poets 5. Caro is part of We Are Babies press. 

Sinead Overbye (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou) is a writer and researcher who lives in Wellington. Their work has been published with Starling, Sport, Turbine Kapohau, The Dominion Post, RNZ and other places. They recently worked as a staff writer for The Pantograph Punch. They are also the co-editor of the online journal Stasis. 


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