Writers
GLENN COLQUHOUN
On Tour - Poet, Writer, Glenn Colquhoun is an award-winning poet and also works as a doctor. He has written collections of poetry and children’s books and was awarded the Prize in Modern Letteriu8uis in early 2004, which is thought to be the most valuable literary prize in the world for an emerging author at $60,000. His first collection of poetry, The Art of Walking Upright, won the Jessie Mackay NZSA Best First Book of Poetry Award in the 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. His second collection, Playing God, won both the Poetry Category and the coveted 2003 Montana Readers Choice Award at the 2003 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. For Colquhoun, one of the best things about being an author is, 'I get to walk down the road and take notice of everything because I might get to use it in a poem or a story one day. Nothing seems ordinary anymore. Something might be an old man's tongue or a piece of liquorice or a snake lying awake in a jungle.' I was rapped to be asked to be part of the Green fire Islands project. I suspect poets are really musicians with bad voices, at least that's the way I feel. I love the opportunity to work with the stories, rhythms and voices that underpin both Maori and Celtic culture. They intersect daily in my life, and more importantly for me, in my daughter’s life. I'm especially interested in how they have engaged with each other over time and what a conversation between them might sound like. As well as that I get to hang out with talented people and scratch the belly of the fish for a while. Sounds like fun to me. …Glen Colquhoun
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