AUP New Poets 7

AUP New Poets 7 is a deep dive into the rich diversity of New Zealand poetry today. Relaunched under the editorship of Anna Jackson in 2019, AUP New Poets 7 includes substantial selections from the poetry of Rhys Feeney, Ria Masae, and Claudia Jardine. From Apia to Parnell, Ancient Rome to dreams of Venus, Aro Park to the furthest reaches of the internet, the poems of Rhys Feeney, Ria Masae, and Claudia Jardine take us places—including the darkest reaches of emotional geographies lit up in startling new ways. Each poet writes with a rich vocabulary and distinct sense of rhythm, as they bring us mutilated barbie dolls, indestructible pumpkins, fat-soluble poisons, jelly-fish, seagulls, eight-tala jugs of cocktails, loom weights, unseasonable journeys, deep-fried bananas, pet rabbits, destructive chickens, scars and tattoos, parataxis and ellipses, instructions on how to make toast, and more, so much more.

Anna Jackson made her debut in AUP New Poets 1 before publishing six collections with Auckland University Press, including I, Clodia, and Other Portraits (2014). She has a DPhil from Oxford and is now an associate professor in English literature at Victoria University of Wellington. Jackson is the author of Diary Poetics: Form and Style in Writers' Diaries 1915–1962 (Routledge, 2010) and, with Charles Ferrall, British Juvenile Fiction 1850–1950: The Age of Adolescence (Routledge, 2009). Find out more about Anna Jackson at www.annajackson.nz Rhys Feeney is a high school teacher and volunteer mental health worker in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. He has a BA (Hons) in English literature as well as an MTchLrn (Secondary) from Victoria University of Wellington. His poetry has previously appeared in ANNEXE, elsewhere, Mimicry, Sponge, Starling, and various zines. He tweets occasionally at @rhysfeeneybot Ria Masae’s work has been in publications such as, Landfall, Ika, takahe and Manifesto Aotearoa. She won the 2015 ‘New Voices: Emerging Poets Competition’ and the 2016 ‘Cooney Insurance Short Story Competition.’ She has poetry on the Mexican poetry website Circulo De Poesia, as well as the Best New Zealand Poem 2017 anthology. In 2018, Ria became the ‘Going West Poetry Slam’ champion, and in 2019 she was a recipient of the ‘NZSA Mentor Programme’. Since her acceptance into the AUP New Poets 7 anthology, Ria has been working on a poetry collection for her first sole anthology. Claudia Jardine is a Pakeha/Maltese poet and musician who was born in Te Tihi-o-Maru and grew up in Otautahi alongside a suburban menagerie of animals and bugs. She holds a First Class Bachelor of Arts with Honours from Victoria University of Wellington and will soon be completing her MA in the same subject. Her writing has been published in Starling, Mimicry, Landfall, Sport, and several zines. Her debut indie-folk EP North is available on most major music streaming services. In her spare time she plays centre-back for the university’s women’s football squad or reads.