The Blues, 27 poems by Mark Pirie, Earl of Seacliffe Art Workshop, Paekakariki, 2001, ISBN 1 86942 024 1 Reviewed by Bernard Gadd.

This small collection is a young poet's juvenilia written between the ages of 18 and 20. The inspiration for much of the work was the singer, the late John Lee Hooker. But the centre of interest is actually a writer of poems musing about the writing of poems. There's even a mini manifesto in the criticism of the poet "who thinks every poem written /should be well-thought out, / have a specific style, / affect a particular audience / and challenge the use of language. (Averages) There are also pastiches of various styles, including that of the song lyric, a successful emulation of Sam Hunt (Early Morning Blues), a nice haiku through the trees/ paddy wagon follows/ 'the kids', an Eggleton version which actually sounds in parts rather like some of Michael O'Leary's early satires, and various others. And all the way through the poems are the allusions to music. The poems are on the whole, as might be expected, rather slight. But there are some very strong lines pointing ahead to the accomplished poet-in-the-making: "these days there are constant reminders that / all your best truths and maxims / are walking, / inching along a tightrope, and / one day, without warning, they'll vanish .../... like you, no longer part of this world. (Reluctantly refuting a Billy Collin's poem). And intriguing images "she crosses the road, moves up the street, / and soon her image chops apart, / vanishes under the ledge. (The Orphan) The language and its rhythms are assured and apt. Yet I think Mark Pirie was right not to include these in his recent substantial collection – and certainly he has more sense than some well-known poets who try to persuade us that their youthful poetic attempts helped to shape the course of kiwi poetry. This is a collection in which it's interesting to watch the younger Pirie flex poetic muscle, look for the kinds of voice that fit him, and try out a variety of poetic purposes. The one that appealed most to me is The Dream which in setting down the leaps of the thinking mind produces an effect close to the post-modern. Having read this book, I don't think my own juvenilia would come up to scratch. The publisher, Michael O'Leary, provides a book that is simply but very attractively produced and fits the poetry well. I think many people will enjoy this small book.

READING THE WILL – Poems, Mark Pirie.Sudden Valley Press, 12 Manuka Street, Christchurch. 19.95 Retail. Reviewed by Trevor Reeves.

This is the second book of poetry by Mark Pirie in recent months. Normally publishers and editors tend not to be regarded as writers of any great worth, in their own right. Happily, Pirie is breaking through that barrier with great gusto and relish, recently. The variety and scope of his poetry reminds me somewhat of the late James K. Baxter. James K. was sometimes seen with notebook in hand, pen poised, chuckling. Another little gem would appear. Humour is high on Pirie's list of concerns. He says in 'Poem at the Library', "but 'prolific' doesn't / necessarily mean 'good' / now, does it?" Pirie is nothing if not prolific and mostly he is better than good. His style shows the mastery of change and adaptability. Surely a master of the one word poem, in 'After Loney', with: "hecameintotheworldtodieandthatswhathedid". Not hard to understand when you realise that life has a 100% deathrate. The older writers, musicians, poets come under scrutiny from Pirie – Jimi Hendrix (my favourite, too!), Jack Kerouac, Robert Creeley (is Creeley that old?). How do you know you are getting old? Is it when you buy a $2 pair of reading glasses to read the death notices in the paper? I think Pirie is becoming a prominent New Zealand commentator on poets' styles and personalities. Suffice to conclude with a section from 'Rant, for Creeley', "……embattled Existentialists / still wait for 'XXX', but but why doesn't someone / tell them what Wittgenstein said, / 'If you give it a meaning, it has a meaning!" Well, there's meaning, more than meaning here for me in this generous 104-page book of Pirie's poems. Enough to keep me absorbed for ages.

HUSK – Poems of Chris Price. Auckland University Press, $21.95. Reviewed by Trevor Reeves.

This is Chris Price's first solo collection of poetry. It is difficult to get one's work known if one has been highly active, as Chris Price has, in the business of publishing and in particular, her long and very competent and successful stint as the editor of 'Landfall', richly succeeding those highly respected editors who preceded in this role. The sheer range and control in these poems is impressive, as is the scholarship, creative energy and inventiveness. For attention to detail over something seemingly unimportant, I liked 'Vaucanson's Duck'. (which sounds like some kind of dangerous syndrome). Where the waterfowl ponders on those who gaze apon him or her: "…What self-respect / for a waterfowl whose pond / and territory is no more than a basin, / a bucket, a small, clean perfect O?" I think Chris Price's stunning complexity is similar to the works of the late R A K Mason, and with a similar, cleverly wrought rhyming perfection and flow. Hers is more likely, however, to tug on the emotions as Ezra Pound sometimes did, but for me, Price does it with better selection and control. Miniscule, but potent, is 'Evenings at the Microscope' – the spontaneity is obvious (and is also hard to do), ending "syphoning honey/ and venom / the ever / ready recipe". As to how Price arrives at that, you had better get the book and read it. This is one of the better recent collections of poetry to be seen in New Zealand.