Tag: poetic prose
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Black Sugarcane by Nafanua Purcell Kersel is the Epitome of All-Encompassing, Hearty Poetry
Black Sugarcane has been on my radar for several months now thanks to its award-winning status courtesy of the Ockhams 2026 Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry. but outside of that, I have wanted to read this poetry collection for a long while. I am slowly finding my preferences with poetic prose, creative non-fiction,…
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Euphoric Poetry and Sobering Non Fiction in Haro Lee’s Watching Television in a Love Motel
I attended the launch for Haro Lee’s Watching Television in a Love Motel last night and it was such a fun, exciting evening. Hosted at a bookstore, this launch brought the bad a bougie to a book release, and really felt like we were bringing this book in with a bang. Split into four sections,…
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The Wonders of Memoir in Siobhan Harvey’s What We Remember, What We Forget
This post is a little later than my scheduled Saturday, as I have been enjoying Matariki and really focusing on what I want to prioritise for the year. I have also been reading an array of novels, and have been so immersed in them that I forgot to write up this review yesterday morning after…
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academic writing, adult book recs, adult memoir, an essay concerning human understanding, annafromuni, annafromuni 2026, annafromuni discussions, autobiography, book recommendations, book review, contemporary non fiction, creative non-fiction, essay writing, memoir, Non Fiction, non fiction book recs, nz non fiction, orlando, poetic prose, queer book recs, queer representation, reflections on exile, searching for memory: the brain the mind the past, siobhan harvey, the well of loneliness, what we remember what we forget -
Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These is Sharp, Succinct, and Stunning
The more I read recommendations from people I trust, the more I fall in love with the power of literature, especially that from nations with such rich histories. Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These is only one such example, but it is a truly astonishing one at that. Both heartfelt and harrowing, this tale brings…
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Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin is an LGBT Classic
This classic is powerful, mesmerising, and heartbreaking in so many ways. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin is one of those short novels that fills the whole space, with life in every word and emotion seeping off the page. It is lyrical and intense and complex and impossible to ignore. It is rough, focusing on many…
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Hour of the Star – Clarice Lispector’s Short, Sombre Brazilian Classic
There’s a line on page 8 that summarises Clarice Lispector’s Hour of the Star perfectly – ‘what I am about to write can’t be absorbed by minds that are very demanding and covet refinement.’ That could also sum up her writing in general, but I found it profound in the first few pages of this…
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Janet Frame’s An Angel at my Table is A Phenomenal Autobiography
I have been meaning to read works by Janet Frame for a long time now, so what better way to get a feel for her narative voice, style, and literary influences than her stunning second autobiography An Angel at my Table. This short novel bursts at the seams with vivid emotion and imagery, and carry…
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Kirsty Gunn’s Pretty Ugly – A Short Story Collection Full of Human Emotion
Would it be fair if I only reviewed one short story collection this month? Pretty Ugly by Kirsty Gunn is a darkly-fascinating, ominously-enticing read, and I felt myself being drawn into the writing with no desire to pull back. Pretty Ugly by Kirsty Gunn is the inaugural title in a new series of short story…
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The Mires by Tina Makereti – Intense and Charming
The Mires by Tina Makereti, shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockhams 2025, will immerse you in a tale of indigenous folklore, suspense, domestic drama, and the threat of extremism on ordinary lives. It is a magical page-turner from start to finish, and it won’t take you more than a…
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Be Mesmerised by Samantha Harvey’s Orbital
Another Booker Prize-winning novel has made its way up my tbr. Orbital by Samantha Harvey is a stunning literary science fiction masterpiece that will leave you mesmerised, awestruck, and ever thankful for our beautiful planet earth. If there was ever an ode to Mother Earth and to humanity, it is within these pages. Life on…
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