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    • Early Releases: Verb Readers & Writers Festival 2021
      • We are thrilled to announce special, early events that will take place across October ahead of our festival week in November. Read on for magical moments … <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <a class=" sqs-block-image-link " href="https://www.verbwellington.nz/festival-2021" > This year’s Verb Readers & Writers Festival takes place between 3 - 7 November, and has some special early events happening throughout October. The festival has the theme of ‘coven’. Festival Director, Claire Mabey, found the word incredibly inspiring and curious as she developed the concepts for the eighth annual much-loved festival.  The early release events include the Travelling Covens where Verb brings a bespoke literary experience to your home. They also include a collaboration with Te Papa’s Art of Surrealism exhibition; a free lunchtime event bringing international creators of the cult hit book, The Literary Witches, to Wellington’s City Gallery via the magic of the internet; and a new, coven-themed walking tour by Bad Bitches of Wellington creator Jessie-Bray Sharpin. For Families, Verb has collaborated with artist Catherine Bagnall and writer Jane Sayle (authors of On We Go) to create a bush expedition and picnic that will reveal your animal daemon…  For all early events visit verbwellington.nz/festival-2021 “In uncertain times I think we look at things in a new way. For me ‘coven’ evokes community, magic, bold ideas, and ancient knowledge and ritual. Sharing stories and bringing our ideas into the public realm is what readers and writers festivals do: and this year Verb is celebrating the power of that gathering in familiar, but also very new, ways.” — Claire Mabey, Verb DirectorThe full Verb Readers & Writers Festival programme is released on 23 September (or earlier if you are part of the Verb Community). 

    • Read with us: Book Coven Book Club
      • We have joined forces with the brilliant team at The Pantograph Punch to bring you a book club in celebration of some of the exceptional books that will feature in this year’s coven-themed Verb Readers & Writers Festival. See below for how it works! <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Book Coven image by Sara Moana This year’s Verb Readers & Writers Festival has the theme of ‘coven’. The word is evocative of so much, not in the least ideas of community, magic, creation and circles of knowledge. Words can make change in the metaphysical and material worlds and the 2021 festival programme takes inspiration from that particular alchemy. The authors of the books selected for this club all appear in the Festival: each book reveals their astonishing talent and the various combinations of imagination, conviction and craft. Here’s what you’ll be reading for Book Coven:Month One (August): Rangikura by Tayi Tibble; Bird Collector by Alison GlennyTwo astounding poetry collections. Startling images, energy and atmosphere.Month Two (September) Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K ReillyOnly one of the hit novels of 2021. Funny, smart, poignant and punchy.Month Three (October) Butcherbird by Cassie HartA domestic psychological thriller from rising Aotearoa star.Month Four (November) Isobar Precinct by Angelique KasmaraA new novel from the publisher’s of Becky Manawatu’s Auē: Isobar Precinct is set in inner-City Auckland and takes the reader on a journey that questions time, memory and our place in the world. Month Five (December) Against the Grain by Melanie Harding-ShawA cosy Witchy novella from the Witchy Fiction collective, this story is the perfect way to round off five months of Aotearoa reading. How it works: In a nutshell: You subscribe, books arrive, you read, we all meet up online to chat! You get a beautiful bookmark designed by Sara Moana and discounts to the Verb Readers & Writers Festival 2021. 1) To go all in and subscribe to the whole beautiful lot purchase a Full Cauldron sub to get all books delivered to you in one go and have your reading sorted for the rest of 2021. 2) If you’d like to just pick and choose which month you’d like to partake in just purchase the month you’re keen on. Note there is a purchase deadline each month to make sure you get your book before our online meet ups. Month One is here and the deadline for subscribing is 2 August. 3) There are supporter options for each month (for example’s here’s Month One’s supporter option) and also for the Full Cauldron (here’s the Full Cauldron Supporter option). If you do purchase a Supporter option then you’re sending magic our way and The Pantograph’s Punch way so we can keep making things and supporting writers and readers! 4) If cost is prohibitive then we have a limited number of discounted options each month. To inquire please contact The Pantograph Punch. Here is a handy diagram: <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " >

    • Verb Writer’s Residency 2021
      • MEDIA RELEASE, 9 June 2021 Three-week Writer’s Residency in Wellington opens for Applications  Applications for a three-week writer’s residency in Wellington will open this Friday 11 June 2021. The Verb Wellington Writers Residency is open to Aotearoa writers and supported by the Verb Community, Mātātuhi Foundation, Katherine Mansfield House & Garden and Residency patron Professor John Ormiston ONZM in memory of his wife Professor Diana (Dinny) Lennon ONZM (1949-2018).   The selected writer will spend three weeks immersed in the vibrant creative culture of Aotearoa’s capital city, writing in the birthplace of internationally acclaimed Modernist writer Katherine Mansfield and staying in the heart of the city in a self-catering character apartment. The resident will receive a stipend of $3000NZD and has the opportunity to appear in the Verb Writers & Readers Festival which takes place in the last stage of the residency period, between 3 - 7 November 2021.  “We are so grateful that we have been able to create this opportunity for an Aotearoa writer. And thanks to Professor Ormiston’s support we can continue to run this residency for the next five years,” says Verb Wellington Director, Claire Mabey, co-creator of Verb Wellington, a beloved organisation designed to support writers and readers.   “Katherine Mansfield House & Garden holds a special place in Aotearoa’s literary landscape and Mansfield’s life and work still inspire writers around the world today. It’s just wonderful to be able to create this once-in-a-lifetime experience that will no doubt produce some compelling work.”  In the nearby historic area of Thorndon, the 1888 home of a young Mansfield and her fashionable colonial family illustrates the decorative trends of the late 19th-century with richly patterned wallpapers and warm native timber. Heritage roses and native plants flourish in the garden at the foot of Te Ahumairangi, near the site of what was once a Māori kāinga named Pakuao.  “During Mansfield’s short life, which was tragically cut short by tuberculosis in France at age 34, she changed the way the short story was written in the English language and her own life story and words fill the rooms the house here on Tinakori Road,” says Cherie Jacobson, Director of Katherine Mansfield House & Garden. “I think a writer will feel very much at home here!”  The 2020 Residency was held by Auckland writer, Himali McInnes who said: “I absolutely LOVED the residency! I really valued the time and dedicated space to write, with no other expectations. But also, lots of chances to meet other writers, and many supportive and encouraging people.”  Applications for the Verb Wellington Residency are invited from established writers of short stories, novels, poetry, creative nonfiction and memoir. The Residency will take place for three weeks during June and July and include a NZD$3000 stipend from Verb Wellington. More information and the application form can be found at https://www.verbwellington.nz/residencies Contact Claire Mabey for any queries / interviews.   Our Verb Community helped make this residency possible. Our members support kaupapa like that all year. We’d love you to join us! Perks include discounts tickets, merch and special Verb Community events. <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " >

    • Meeting Ocular
      • By Claire Mabey (Verb Wellington, Director) Creative Studio Ocular NZ have been a beautiful revelation for us here at Verb. If you’ve seen any of the design around for our new kaupapa, The Garden Party, then you’re seeing Ocular’s work. As a huge supporter of curious new arts projects in Pōneke, they have given their ace designer, Arron, to us as a core part of the communication for The Garden Party. Arron worked with Toby Morris (The Spinoff) to blend Toby’s signature illustration style with Arron’s own clear-sighted design to create a whole new festival brand. We love working with Ocular who are a hothouse of talent. We are excited to say that we have more collaborations in the pipeline. We wanted you to get to know a little more about this dynamic, generous Wellington-grown business: Q. How did Ocular start and what does Ocular do?Like many Wellington businesses Ocular started its journey over 15 years ago in the small back room of a house. Ever growing and changing alongside our local clients, we now work with national and international partners. We're a full service creative studio, which basically means we offer all the services our partners might need to tell their story and reach their customers (or audience). Whether its web, design, video, brand or strategy - Ocular has the skills and tools to get the job done. Q. Describe a typical day in the Ocular office?Every morning we kick off the day with a stand up team meeting AKA 'the WIP' (Work In Progress) so that our team of sixteen can touch base and talk through what we're working on before getting stuck into it. Apart from the actual work we get done... you'll find us caffeinating in our open plan office forest set-up, giving the office dogs a good cuddle, or nipping down to the skatepark during our lunch break (don't assume we can actually skate though). We have a good code of communication and fun, and we make sure that applies to our clients and work as well. Q. In Ocular's world what would you say would be the top five things that make for great design?Purpose: Design should have a clear focus and purpose (in film we call it the vision, or kaupapa). We believe to create good design we need to first understand our client's journey. Clarity and perspective: Clear communication and understanding with our clients is important so that we're on the same page. Briefing is key! Honesty: Design should be honest and highlight strengths. We pride ourselves on not giving clients stuff they don't need. So if you don't need it we'll tell you! Aesthetic: It's obviously got to look good, beyond a matter of opinion, good design follows the fundamental design principles. People should be able to understand and engage with good design easily. Innovation: Pushing boundaries is important. Here we celebrate creativity, innovation, and trying something new. Good design is influenced by good design. But it's not copied, is re-energized, refreshed, and repurposed. Q. As an indie Wellington business, how would you say that Wellington itself has impacted on what Ocular is and how you operate?Wellington sometimes seems magnetic to creatives, it's a hotspot for the arts and over time we've developed a wide network of multidisciplinary creatives and artists that we're able to collaborate with and be inspired by. We are bound by geography. In a small city, word gets around and relationships matter. In this, we can really get to know our clients, care about them, and partner with them in their journey. We celebrate their success as they celebrate ours. Many of our clients come from previous clients and partners, and because of the nature of Wellington's size, we quite often accumulate leads in the trade isle of Bunnings, or running into people whilst walking Boris and Doug (the office pooches) down Lyall Bay beach! Q. What do you love about being at Ocular?The culture - we have a team passionate about creating work that we are proud of. We have an emphasis on fun, communication and honesty and in simple terms we believe happy people do better at work so personal wellbeing is something we take seriously. We enjoy working in an environment that encourages us to push the boundaries, try new things and think differently. <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > One of the design elements that Arron from Ocular made for The Garden Party (illustrations by Toby Morris - a fun colab). <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Check out the incredibly beautiful work that Ocular do by looking through their projects online here. <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Arron oversees all things design. He’s become a master of negotiating between form and function delivering clients with visually stimulating solutions while simultaneously meeting business needs. Arron is from North Yorkshire in the UK and has worked at multiple award winning studios in London before making the move to Wellington at the beginning of 2019. Arron loves dogs and spends his free time exploring New Zealand. He's now found his second home at Ocular and heads the design team with a secret plot to adopt the resident office dog (Boris). If you had a good time at The Garden Party this year then do consider joining the Verb Community. Our members support events like that all year, and writers residencies too. Perks include discounts tickets, merch and special Verb Community events.

    • Festivals to bring us together
      • By Claire Mabey (Verb Wellington, Director) Wow. We can’t quite believe we managed to pull of a Festival in 2020. Between 5 - 8 November 2020 we ran nearly 60 events that celebrated Aotearoa writers and stories. Our LitCrawl on Saturday 7 November was as busy as ever and almost every other event reached its full capacity. The level of work that our writers are making is so astonishingly high. I am constantly blown away by what I read and what I hear from those who put pen to paper and gift us with stories and ideas. I think that in this 2020 we all needed to come together to feel that. That sounds a little woo woo but I think it’s true (and I rhymed). But this year of Covid-19 has been stressful and unpredictable. It’s been exhausting. Those of us in the business of making events feel that. But we also have been so lucky here in Aotearoa and we’ve been able to continue to meet up and share. That alchemy was so palpable during Verb Festival. I could tell that both sides of the stage need it. Writers and readers connected with each other over a mutual need to share and talk - to try to understand, to express, to create a little magic together. Thank you hugely to everyone who spoke, wrote and published in 2020. Thank you hugely to everyone who read, bought a book, shared an article, came to an event. Thank you to our incredible Verb Community who support our work year around. Thank you to our amazing sponsors and partners including National Library of New Zealand, Creative New Zealand, Wellington City Council, Lion Foundation, Bowen Galleries, VUP, Allen & Unwin, Vic Books, Rotary Club of North Wellington, ReadNZ, and BooksellersNZ. <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > We’re now working on The Garden Party, a new festival experience for Wellington. It’s an exciting new thing! We have partnered up with The Spinoff who share our mad enthusiasm for making things and we have booked The Wellington Botanic Soundshell for Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 February. It’s going to be a free festival and we’ll have writers, musicians and food trucks and stalls. It’s a little slice of festival dreamland — bringing us together into an outdoor environment with grass under out toes and flowers blooming in our periphery. We’ve made a few line-up announcements but more are to come — we’ll have it all out by 18 December (After which date I’m on holiday and I hope you’re all going to do that too. Boy we need it. We got books to read and swims to partake in).For those who like statistics, here’s a few from this year’s Verb Festival:6000 Attendances57 events154 Writers1 Kim Hill27 venuesa lot of social media impressions - over 300,000K over a few days in November and over 2mil reach in domestic mediaAfter The Garden Party in Feb 2021 we’ll be getting ready for Verb Festival 2021, 4 - 7 November. <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Jehan Casinader and Charlotte Graham-McLay at Bicycle Junction for LitCrawl 2020. If you had a good time at Verb Festival this year then do consider joining the Verb Community. Our members support events like that all year, and writers residencies too. Perks include discounts tickets, merch and special Verb Community events.

    • Meeting The Ferret Bookshop
      • By Maggie Tweedie In this edition of the ‘Maggie Meets’ profile series for Verb Wellington, I catch up with Terry and Aames who run The Ferret Bookshop. Terry admitted early in the interview that he has a penchant for inefficiency, which allowed me to quickly pigeonhole him into the “second-hand bookshop owner” stereotype. The more I dive into his story the more I realise that the story of The Ferret is not a linear one.  The Ferret Bookshop is one of the only Wellington bookshops surviving from the time it was established over 40 years. Since 1979 The Ferret Bookshop has had many homes nested in and around Cuba Street. According to its owner Terry, a couple of people in the book trade founded it, one of them a fellow named Rick who used to sit at the shop desk with a lit cigarette in hand and an ashtray in arm's reach. In 1988 Terry bought the business, which is now situated next to Loretta on Cuba Street.  Terry, where did your journey with The Ferret begin? I'd been an irregular visitor to the shop (I worked at the other end of town) from the time I moved to Wellington in late 1980s. Given my tendency to render myself increasingly unemployable (I've always thought of myself as relatively easy to get on with but my work history would suggest otherwise!) I was interested to hear from a mutual friend that Rick was thinking of selling the business. We made contact, established an easy dialogue of books first, business second and after some negotiation and only one serious argument the shop/business passed from him to me. Why name the bookshop after a demonic small predator?The name and the store's books had always appealed to me. Its provenance is disputed: Rick was adamant that it was settled in a discussion with some friends shortly before setting up (he and partner had been amassing books over a period of months beforehand), a couple of people have claimed otherwise. The key is and was the play on words: ferret about and especially with focus on our byline: poke your nose in - which a few (younger) people have often been humoured by! Although feedback from the name has been largely positive, The Ferret hasn’t always excited customers. Some are shocked to see a pair of stuffed ferrets on display in the shop, intimidated by the savage-looking mustelid and another with a bird in its jaws. Terry admits they have had the odd person say “yuck, ferrets!” and on the odd occasion some ferret-lovers have brought their pets in unannounced. Terry is a self confessed “bookie”, noting that his access to books and his interest in discovery has fed a perpetual hunger for more reading — an indulgence he has maintained without threatening the livelihood of the business (or our native species).  Do you sell any books about ferrets?Curiously, none at all at present, although we have a couple of Ferret as Hero comics on display at our Featherston annex, a smaller sibling store which is open most weekends as part of Booktown.   <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > This vintage sign originally featured in The Ferret Featherston shop. Featherston is officially recognised as A Book Town, defined as a small rural town or village, close to major cities, in which second-hand and antiquarian bookshops are concentrated.  Have you always been an avid reader?I come from a typically post-WWII working-class home and had a mother who valued books for her children. She is in a rest home now and one of her major bugbears is shaky hands and dodgy eyes that limit her reading options. Initially my reading meant Enid Blyton and condensed classics as well as Lotsa Comix. My "real" reading, began in my teens through the discovery of an alternative canon when I nurtured an appetite not just for the standard Kerouac and Salinger but much that was officially denied us, E.g Nabokov's ‘Lolita’, Selby's ‘Last End’ extended through many more obscure writers with a special nod toward Latin American literature. I could go on, I must go on, mustn't I! Finally to reference Stein and Beckett, Gertie and Sam are probably my 20th Century mainstays. Are you a fast or a slow reader? As I get older, I am probably slowing on that front as well. I was a relatively speedy reader but have a distinct preference for the sort of book that actively slows my reading down and makes me savour the journey. I despise the notion of speedreading with its inbuilt bias toward I'm-a-busy-man-gotta-run-time-is-money type. What Impact has COVID-19 had on business? Well, the obvious: it has made the viability of businesses like ours even more tenuous. Having said that, the interest shown in our books since we came out of the first major lockdown has been heartening with a more personal touch to it than previously. The average customer seems to be implicitly showing greater loyalty to books and stores like ours, less idle shopping-as-pastime and more focus. Although the demographic is shifting because a significant number of older people are not venturing out much. I feel in part recall’s times back with a return to "what might I find" rather than the search for a specific title AND NOTHING BUT!  That (mentality) has increasingly defined an info-obsessed age. Terry talks of the revitalization of the book and the trend of the ‘bookoid’ and how less is more with bookstores. He notes the film The Booksellers which celebrates the few survivors of New York’s book scene and their love of the book. Terry acknowledges the ability to survive so long “given the bloodyminded amateurism of the ownership/management model and shoestring economics of it all” does surprise him. It’s clear he’s grateful, “even if I don't often show it” for the ongoing support of customers.    <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Terry.  What books are you invested in right now? Many works of history, both local and international (especially Latin American). I also have a liking for first novels, this also reflects my past reading where I'm often much more familiar with the early parts of a writer's work than with the more established, e.g. Margaret Atwood who, since I mention her, had absolutely no right to half the Booker which morphs into another aside on behalf of Lucy Ellmann's Ducks, Newburyport which, fortuitously I was able to devour during our first lockdown — she is a criminally underrated writer and hers a savagely comic and sharp portrayal of a large part of past and present.  And NZ? Janet Frame is hard to top and I still regret not stopping on a severely windy Wellington day to tell Patricia Grace how much I was enjoying Pōtiki which I just happened to be halfway into at the time! Favourite time of the year?  Any Wellington day that combines literally and figuratively sunshine, the slightest (and not cold!) of winds and a soft rainy night. Oh, and of course LitCrawl past and future!! Aames Bell joined The Ferret around a decade ago while looking for a job during his studies at University. After a stint sailing across the Pacific to Mexico in a three-masted classic schooner, he travelled in the Americas and Europe. Later he settled in Japan, becoming a pint puller, coffee maker, and handy person in a hostel. In Mallorca, a researcher, classifier of public domain books, a builder and a web designer. He is reluctant to talk about himself anymore so I instead ask him to describe the customers of The Ferret, who he calls, “a colourful range of individuals crossing a bookshop spectrum”.  Aames, who are your customers?Firstly there is a book for (almost) everyone, and the people who come nosing around the shelves tend to reflect that. I’ve had people unclear about whether we sell books or hire them out, customers who will read every book spine in the shop, unafraid to get down on all fours, crawling face near the floor to scour the bottom shelves! Then there’s young readers - being those for whom I have great affection and empathy, who are beginning in a world that is about to gain greater depth and breadth. I’ve had a man who claimed to be an ex-gun-runner who half undressed in the shop to show me his bullet wounds and scar-messed body. He was interested in haiku!  Of course not to mention those wonderful and increasingly rare folk who are comfortable browsing all areas of the shop and buying up an armful of books. Do you have a favourite book in the shop?If we are talking about a personal favourite of the books currently on the shelf (and not those secreted away in the back room), there is ‘Underworld’, by Don Delillo. But this is one of any number of authors and titles. A copy of David Byrne’s ‘Bicycle Diaries’ recently came into the store too!  What are you most inclined to read?I’m inclined to read anything that will deepen my understanding of the world, mostly in terms of the human condition - writing as proof of life, so to speak, from within our modern condition, which can feel something like a hostage situation. I tend to need that existential nod to death or a gravity of purpose, but also a sense of humour. Anything that will hopefully leave me a little wiser and make me laugh. So I tend towards literature for the most part, though not exclusively. I also read the odd crime novel, spiritual/philosophical/cultural/psychological text, science fiction story, shampoo label, comic, and some Gary Larson too… What role has literature played in your life?My interest in literature developed reading from my father’s bookshelves, which introduced me to authors like Kundera, Garcia Marquez and Canetti. From there my interest led me down what felt like a quite natural path, from author to author. Since then books have always been with me and when in different cities I tend to seek out bookshops the way others might go sightseeing. Going places and doing things, books have always been within arm’s reach, whether on a night stand or travelling with me in a backpack.   <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Aames.  Poke your nose into The Ferret and check out their impressive collection of ‘favourites in shop’. You might even find some short stories like - ‘The Knife Thrower and Other Stories’ from Steven Millhauser ahead of Verb’s LitCrawl event on short stories! The Ferret packs out during Litcrawl and both Terry and Aames agree it is heartening to acknowledge that there is still vibrancy and interest in the local literary scene. Hype that exists within pages... outside of noted reviews, commentary and trends in a Bookshop that was ‘established in the pre-digital era of slowness and depth’.  

    • Meeting Jenny Neligan
      • By Maggie Tweedie Jenny Neligan is director of Bowen Galleries, which has been a Wellington staple for almost four decades. It’s situated directly opposite the iconic David Bowie mural on Ghuznee St and is right next door to Milk Crate.  Jenny, and Bowen Galleries’, story is one of perseverance through the ups and downs of keeping a gallery space open through extraordinary circumstances. In 1981 Jenny set up Bowen Galleries on Bowen Street. And next year, in 2021, the business will turn forty years old. From 1981-88 the Bowen Galleries existed on its namesake:  Jenny remembers the fabulous three-storey brick building and the gorgeous places that took up shop in the front. Lois Daish’s Number 9 cafe, a true gem of Bowen St, was one such iconic place that Jenny was proud to be situated near. Bowen Galleries was tucked down the side of one of the shops, meaning customers had to weave around the back through the hallway on the ground floor to eagerly view the art works. From 1981-88 the building they were in got sold to government property services. According to Jenny there was a court case, after the landlord sold the building, tenant free. Jenny won, which meant that while they had to move their gallery they could do so with a luxurious bit of money! This money kept the dealer gallery afloat through the stock market crash of 1987 and the severe economic downturn that followed. However, the brutal, commercial rental values meant it took Jenny and her colleague Christopher Moore (Christopher Moore Gallery), 18 months to find their new home on The Terrace. Early on in the search Jenny and Christopher made the unique decision to share premises and split the rent, something that no other gallery in Wellington had done before. A creative solution and a natural survival tactic that proved sustainable for years to come. Jumping forward to now: I walk down the narrow, white hallway through to the Gallery and pass Penney Moir (Jenny’s business partner) who is off to meet with an artist. When I arrive in the fresh, stark gallery I find the walls lined with vibrant teals and browns in an exhibition called ‘Butterfly Creek’ by Catherine Bagnall, a lecturer at Massey's College of Creative Arts. I find Jenny in front of the gallery’s large, bright window which gives us a view of the greenery outside swaying in the breeze. I begin by asking Jenny why she chose this artist to exhibit at this moment:   <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " >  Why Catherine Bagnall?  Her show was the last show I remember in ‘88. This is why this exhibition is so lovely right now because it is Catherine coming back to us.  How did you survive during the late 80’s with the recession?  We started in 1989 at Franconia (a wonderful Art Deco building designed by architect Edmund Anscombe). We were able to get a very good rental there and that helped us survive. 1991 and into 1993 were the toughest years with the Ruth Richardson beneficiary cuts: I went back teaching. Have you always had to work two jobs?  I have always had part-time work while owning the gallery to underpin the cost. Every Art Gallery is the same, every dealer is the same. That's what I did to help stay in business, either child minding or cooking. It was cooking for the Todds that gave Bowen Galleries an amazing start. That job included a flat, I was well looked after and that enabled the gallery to survive. At that moment, an ederly couple walked into the Gallery, who just so happened to be Catherine's Parents. They had travelled by bus all the way into the CBD to see their daughter’s work at Bowen Galleries. I noticed that her pieces were selling very well! Jenny was polite and gentle when greeting the artist's parents, taking care to make sure they knew the value of their daughters' work to the Wellington community.  Back to the Interview …..  How does one decide they will open a dealer gallery?  It was a complete accident. I was originally going to open a bookstore! I moved home from overseas and David Hedley (a friend) asked me to work at Hedleys Booksellers over the summer in Masterton. I did that and some teaching to pay my parents back. In that time I organised a children’s book fair at the Wairarapa Arts Centre. Neil was the Director of the Arts Centre and eventually became my partner. A Penguin children’s bookshop had been discussed with Graham Beattie but after some scoping he decided it wasn’t financially viable. In the meantime, I was itching to go back to Wellington and looking for a space. Neil called me and said “1/9 Bowen street, what do you think? It’s no good for a bookstore. It will have to be a gallery” ..... and I just didn’t say no!   Was starting a gallery business an intimidating thing to do? Well, working with David gave me a taste of running my own business and I cooked for my friend Prue in her cafe. She now owns Mister D in Napier and they both taught me a lot about the industry. Are you an avid reader? I’m an avid reader and have been my whole life. I’m a slow reader, but an avid one.  What’s your favourite New Zealand book about Art?  I would have to say Euan Macleod: The Painter in the Painting by Gregory O'Brien because that’s ours and I was involved in it!  Tell me about the gallery's strong connection with the publishing world.   Neil was a bookseller and publisher so Bowen Galleries has always had a close alliance with literature. The last thing he did was open BAM Bookshop with David Hedley on the mezzanine floor of the Wellington Public Library building. Bowen Galleries was supposed to have a publishing arm. We have published artist catalogues regularly and two substantial monographs for Robyn Kahukiwa and Jeff Thompson. The gallery has been going well these last few years. After The Terrace, Jenny and Christopher Moore moved to Ghuznee St. Again the two symbiotically shared the premises as a way of making it more economical, acknowledging the one lease split was still a manageable model. Chris did evaluations for extra money and Jenny continued to do catering.   Then … Jenny had three big years: Neil died in 2003, then her mother died and Christopher decided to close his Gallery. She was left without three major figures in her life and had asked herself if she could continue the dream of Bowen Galleries going. Cue Penney Moir, who had been Gallery minding for both Bowen and Christopher Moore and offered to work in partnership with Jenny. Jenny graciously accepted her help and now the two work side by side very successfully! This partnership between Penney and Jenny that began in 2005 is incredibly special and has developed into a strong friendship. Does the world need more gallery spaces?  I don’t know about more, but I definitely think the world needs galleries to feed the human spirit, as places to think and reflect, where you learn to see! Artists give so much and have a lot to offer; and being taught how to see has certainly been one of the things that has enhanced my life. They have been places of great connections. If you think of the Christchurch earthquakes, Galleries were hugely important then. I guess I’m determined to believe they are important. They are just as important as a cricket ground, a rugby stadium and a performance space. How do you support the community?   We are in the midst of an application to the city council at the moment with all of the dealer galleries. We are a huge resource that’s very underused in the city! We keep our front doors open for the community and that’s not easy, it's really not. Penney was saying the other day, she and I do get out and show support in that way by going to talks, meetings and forums. We support picture framers, designers and local groups. Radioactive.FM and Verb have received sponsorship which has given us a huge amount of pleasure. For the first time ever, we have been in a healthy enough financial position … so they have been recipients of that! Penney has a special relationship with our artists here, one that is really supportive. What's your favourite Winter pastime?  Walking around Wellington, especially in the Winter. My good friend Tom and I did the skyline walk, we caught the bus to Johnsonville, went up into the hills to the back of Karori and walked all the way to Mākara. You can see Kāpiti and the South Island and it is a spectacular walk. It took four hours!  What has been your career highlight? I suppose not my favourite but a highlight in terms of challenge and personal development was the Changing Spaces Sculpture Walk for the 2002 NZ Festival of the Arts, because it was my idea! We had 15 very big sculptures placed around Te Ngākau Civic Square and around the waterfront. Working on that with Sue Elliot (Chair of the Wellington Sculpture Trust) was a great experience: Sue was instantly hooked by the sculptures and sculptors.  How were you affected by COVID 19?  We were down financially in the January/March quarter. We went into lockdown with a large overdraft that was worrying and scary. Fortunately the government's wage subsidy and the ten thousand dollar loan got us through it. Without that I don’t know what would have happened. I’m a bit perverse, although Covid-19 is a huge worry … I think global heating and climate change is worse and I’m worried that’s been sidelined for a bit!  What are your reading at the moment?  I'm reading Sprigs, Brannavan Gnanalingham’s latest novel. It’s really ghastly but a hell of a good book! It took me a while to get used to his style but I really like it and he’s highlighted a lot of the shit that goes down in this country. Brannavan’s book makes me feel uncomfortable but I think that’s really important. Before that I read Girl Women Other by Bernadine Evaristo, which I just didn't want to end. You know I do sometimes have this rule about not reading books over 300 pages because there is just so much good stuff to read.  There's a very specific kind of gratitude one has when interviewing an expert in their field. Jenny was almost as reluctant to share her story as she was to have her photo taken. Interviewing her was like being let in on a special secret: an insight into the life well lived. After losing Neil, Jenny knew she would be ok as long as she had good friends, Radio New Zealand, walking, reading and the gallery. Jenny is at Bowen Galleries 6 days a week, taking off Sunday and half a day on Thursday. Although keeping the doors open has been challenging it’s been a rewarding 39 years. It’s her infectious passion, connectedness and deep knowledge of the arts that has allowed the space to serve the community so well. Visit this Wellington treasure and the story held within its art-filled walls at 39 Ghuznee St. 

    • Meeting Lorna Bingham
      • By Maggie Tweedie On the tail end of Riddiford Street lies Another Chapter Bookshop. It’s a warm, cosy space, full of the flavouring scent of freshly printed books. A stark contrast from the Hospital construction and main thoroughfare that surrounds it. In the corner of the bookshop is a nook complete with a seating bay, and multiple bright couloured stools where I sat down with Lorna Bingham, a New Zealander of Northern Irish Ancestry, Diabetes Nurse Practitioner and Owner of Another Chapter.  Are you an avid reader? I wouldn't call myself an avid reader... which is quite interesting I guess. For many years I worked at the hospital full time, I completed my Masters and I had two boys. I didn't have any time to read until the last few years, just before I opened the store. In saying that, I've always had my nose in a good book.  Why Newtown? I love the diversity, the colourful characters and all of the nice eateries.  What appealed about owning an independent bookshop? I took a work trip to Denmark once from London, it was February and it was really freezing, a bitter bitter cold spell and Copenhagen was cold and dark. All the houses had lots of candles and lamps and fires, I loved that wintry cosy atmosphere. I enjoyed the book shops in these countries and always came out with something after foraging around and searching for that good book.  As we looked outside sipping on tea, Riddiford Street looked grey and damp and the sparkly lights that hung on the bookshop windows echoed Lorna’s words of warmth and welcoming. She spoke gently of the burnout she experienced nursing and how she felt somewhat siloed after working as a health professional continuously since 1991. It was clear to Lorna that Newtown needed a bookstore for the Hospital staff, patients, visitors and locals.  Have you read A Mistake by Carl Shuker? I imagine that book would resonate with you because it's set in the Wellington Regional Hospital and you have been working there for years. A Mistake actually came out just when I opened the book shop. And I read it and I found it somewhat brutal but I think that was also where I was at the time. I think in some aspects the central character had nothing left over and she was a product of survival mode. Working in surgical is cut and dried, fairly different to the medical area I work in. People have their operation and are discharged, there's not such a long term relationship, it’s quite a different approach and the book captures that different side of health care well.  <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > What are you reading this week? This new book by contemporary Irish author Caoilin Hughes, called The Orchid and The Wasp. I've just finished Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton and Milkman by Anna Burns.  What’s the most daunting thing about owning a bookstore? The amount of effort it takes to make the small business side work to be honest. I'm really lucky because my husband Tony works in IT and he has set up a lot of the business side. If it wasn’t for him I’m not sure I could have got organized to pay the bills in time and I wouldn’t have lasted this long. I tend to think of the creative aspect of the shop and finding those books you want to keep but there is a lot of maintenance too.  What is your favourite winter pastime? The cup of tea is very important if you're Irish! I relax by cooking but since I’ve owned the shop that has been spread around the family a bit more. Also, I love curling up with a book in front of the fire.  Are you a fast reader or a slow reader? I’m a slow reader and I don’t think there is anything wrong with being a slow reader! It can be hard keeping up with the book club books, the new releases and I keep having to read fast so I can keep on top of it.  Your favourite book by a New Zealand author? This would have to be Mop Head by Selina Tusitala Marsh. I saw her speak at Verb last year and I think this book is just so inspiring! After I saw her talk I ordered several copies for the bookshop. Mop Head is about being different and I love the bit about being inspired by Sam Hunt and how he turned up at school with the dog and the beer bottle in his hand. Then Selina met the Queen (I have to admit I’m a little bit of a royalist). It’s just a really cool book and also she did all of the illustrations on her iPad!  What have you done for the community while opening the store? There’s a young woman who comes here twice a week and we read together. She wants to improve her English (even though it’s very good!). I’m hopeless at languages but when she said she was from Afghanistan I thought why don’t we read, The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Debrah Rodriguez together. So I’ve been learning a few words of Dari and I have learned about her culture and we improve our vocabulary together, it's really lovely.  We have a book club here at Another Chapter with a core group of about 12 who come along. We host it in store and move the table back, take the books off the stools, sit round in a group and have a cup of tea and a biscuit. Sometimes I read the book and think hmmm I didn’t really enjoy that but after discussing it Instead of giving it a 3/10 I give it a 7 or an 8. Others connections can develop your interest in books and that's important.  The three things I wanted the shop to be, were inspiring, connecting and sharing and I think I have succeeded with my vision. People who come into bookshops are lovely and keen to share about any good books they have discovered.  Lorna now works two days at the hospital and the rest at Another Chapter. She wants to thank the group of people (Stella, Alison, Kevin and Carol,) who currently volunteer to help her keep the bookshop alive. While Lorna patiently waits for books to come via ship from Australia she hopes to continue building a sense of community with Another Chapter...one cup of tea and customer at a time. 

    • Launching the Verb Community
      • <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > The Verb Mermaid created by artists Jessica Thompson Carr (The Māori Mermaid). We think creativity is more important than ever. Our mission has always been to support artists and make platforms that support creative people and connect them with curious audiences. That hasn’t changed. In this time of uncertainty and adaptation our passion for what we do is simply being concentrated: We’ve had to think hard about what is most important to us. The Verb Community is a bunch of curious people who want creativity to thrive in their City, in Aotearoa and the world. You’ll be part of a group who can feed into what we do and how we do it. You’ll be helping us directly pay artists for their writing, their conversation and their insights. You’ll be supporting creative events and work to advocate for the value of the arts in our lives. We’re a really small team with bucket loads of passion and experience. We care deeply for artists and what they offer us in our everyday lives. Imagination, possibility, critical thinking, infinite information. Escape, inspiration, connection, empathy. It’s endless what creativity can do. If you’re keen to join the mission (it’s affordable, easy and there are heaps of cool benefits), have a look at the Community info here.

    • Announcing the Verb Writers Resident 2020
      •   <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > We are thrilled to be offering a new writers residency in Wellington thanks to our partners Katherine Mansfield House & Garden and Park Hotel. We had a lot of applications from across Aotearoa for our first residency experience. It was a real privilege to read through so many incredible applications and gain new insights into what writers are working on and why residencies are so important.We are delighted to announce that our inaugural resident is Auckland writer Himali McInnes. Himali’s application was exceptional and we look forward to welcoming Himali to Wellington later in 2020. About Himali: Himali McInnes is a family doctor who works in a busy Auckland practice and in the prison system. She enjoys writing short stories, essays, articles, flash fiction and mediocre poetry. She has been published locally and internationally, and has either won or been short-listed in several writing competitions. She is an NZSA Mentorship recipient for 2020. Himali is also a maker of messes - through gardening, beekeeping, cooking and chicken farming. She is humbled and so grateful to be a Verb Wellington Residency recipient, as she loves Wellington (best op shops ever) and is very much looking forward to time spent writing at the Katherine Mansfield House & Garden. Read Himali’s brilliant review of Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other on The Spinoff here.

    • Lauris Edmond Memorial Award for Poetry Announced
      • Verb Wellington is proudly supporting the Friends of Lauris Edmond. Below is a Press Release announcing the 2020 Lauris Edmond Memorial Award for Poetry. Read on to discover three new poems by the 2020 winner, Emma Neale. A Birthday Celebration: Dunedin poet honoured in biennial poetry award Dunedin poet Emma Neale is the 2020 recipient of the Lauris Edmond Memorial Award for Poetry, a prize given biennially in recognition of a distinguished contribution to New Zealand poetry. <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Emma Neale Emma Neale is the author of six novels and six collections of poetry. Her most recent novel, Billy Bird (2016) was short-listed for the Acorn Prize at the Ockham NZ Book Awards and long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award. Her new book of poems is To the Occupant which was published in 2019 by Otago University Press. Emma is currently editor of the iconic Aotearoa literary journal, Landfall. On receiving the award, Emma says: “I’m incredulous, happy and stunned in my tracks, as if someone has thrown a surprise party – the way friends did when I was nine, and they waited to jump out at me until I was standing near the host’s swimming pool. All the other nine-year-olds were hoping I’d fall into the water with shock. I didn’t. So here I am, dry, a bit disoriented and also delighted again, and remembering that Lauris Edmond was the first poet I ever heard give a public reading. When I was 16, I caught the bus alone to a Book Council lunchtime lecture during school holidays in Wellington, and went to hear her talk about her writing career. I have a feeling I’d sneaked out of the house to do it – as if my interest in poetry and my aspirations to write it were somehow going to get me into trouble, and my parents and friends shouldn’t know. I sat and listened on the edge of my seat, as the poems and the talk opened a portal that meant I could glimpse the green and shifting light of hidden things. The portal was still a long way off, but I was convinced that poetry and literature were going to carry me into an understanding of intimacy, identity, time, ethics, deeper metaphysical questions. I still think of Lauris Edmond as a kind of poet laureate of family relationships; her work was immensely important to me as the work of a local woman poet I could not only read on the page but also hear in person. I am just sorry that I can’t thank her face to face for what her work has meant to me, and I’m enormously grateful to the Friends for reading my own poetry and giving me this generous award. I’ve pinched myself sore. I actually feel like leaping into a pool.” Established in 2002, the Award is named after New Zealand writer Lauris Edmond who published many volumes of poetry, a novel, a number of plays and an autobiography. Her Selected Poems (1984) won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. The 2020 award was announced on 2 April the date of Lauris Edmond’s birthday. A ceremony and birthday celebration was due to take place at National Library of New Zealand in Wellington on 3 April to honour Emma, however due to COVID-19 the event is postponed and will take place in collaboration with Verb Wellington later in the year. In the meantime, the Lauris Edmond Memorial Trust and Verb Wellington encourage everyone to eat cake and read Emma Neale’s poetry: We have two never-before-published poems by Emma Neale for you to enjoy: Pas de deux Outside the city’s central swimming poolunder the slow ballet corps of cherry trees in blooma young father and small daughter dawdle. He smiles, reaches for a dark branch as if for a bell-rope.Palms up in stunned wonder, she turns and turnsas he rings down hundreds of air kisses that pirouette to her skin in gauzy pink drifts. (First published in the Otago Daily Times, 21 March 2020) The grasshoppers Back when the mind could meanderdown side alleyways of lucky-go-happydrawn on the fresh air’s loose leashwe could stroll and call out to sweet anyonehey, how are you? and they’d answer,sleek as cats licking gloss along their fur;nowhere to be, nothing to get done,nobody to pine for, let down, or grievetime felt weightless as grass-heads a-swim on the breezeor gauzy as cicada wings glittering in a lettuce-head chalicelove stacked full harvest in a cool dry barn,sorrow like a minor god from a half-lost myth;his feet dandling from a tree, too scared to climb downfrightened by hawks and wasps who plain ignored himhis dolorous eyes the colour of greywackelovelorn for some nixie or patupaiarehehe’d heard singing in the river’s rillsprinceling of mistakes we’d never makebeing progress, us lot, surely,scions of science, a fine and gilded stepon the way to immortality, believing,not in rumours of what had gone before,but in the spilling present,running like clover-white honeyfrom the daylight’s silver moonplunged like a scoop into a blue rain barrel;that moon that looks now like a chip of boneexposed in a cracked, dry river bed. Like the albums on rotate in your first year away from home He didn’t ever love herthe way she wanted to be lovedbut he kept her first lettersinside a concertina filethat held a polished spiral shella wooden comb paintedwith a heron-white faced womandiscontinued coins, keys to forgotten flats,and written on the backs of concert ticketsthings she’d said beside the dockswhere her lips and eyelids glitteredlike sealight chiseled by the frostthings that rang still in his memorylike tenets, truths to live byso at fifty, through the brandyand then the whiskyand then the midnight bitter ice-fieldof a working dad’s insomniahe had to wonder, he wonderedas the years came surging forwardwhy they couldn't take him with them,couldn’t take him with them. All poems by Emma Neale. A Brief History of the Award Lauris Edmond died in 2000. In 2002, a request came to Frances Edmond, as Lauris’s Literary Executor, for permission to use Lauris’ name in the establishment of a memorial award. The Canterbury Poets’ Collective (CPC) was instrumental in its establishment with the Award jointly administered by the CPC and the New Zealand Poetry Society (NZPS). The Award was first presented in July 2003 at the ‘5 Poets Reading’ in Christchurch. The inaugural recipient was Bill Sewell, who received the Award posthumously. Subsequently, the award continued to be presented at The Press Christchurch Writers Festival's '5 Poets Reading' under the meticulous guidance of Ruth Todd. Over time, the Award structure evolved. The CPC bowed out in 2009 and I took over the management of the Award which is now jointly administered by the NZPS and the Friends of the Lauris Edmond Memorial Award, of which I am the chair. The Friends are literally and literarily old friends of Lauris, along with representative from the NZPS and VUP. (Lauris was Patron of the NZPS when she died).  The friends are: Laurice Gilbert (for the NZPS) Dame Fiona Kidman Professor (Emeritus) Vincent O’Sullivan  Professor Harry Ricketts Fergus Barrowman for VUP Frances Edmond (for the Lauris Edmond Literary Estate) Ruth Todd retired in 2012, thus requiring the Award and its presentation to find a new home. Wellington, as the city Lauris lived in and loved, seemed the logical choice and from 2014 to 2018 the Award was presented as part of the New Zealand Festival’s Writers Week. In 2016 Victoria University Press (VUP) became a second sponsor of the Award (along with the NZPS) and VUP publisher, Fergus Barrowman, joined the committee of Friends. In 2016, I was invited by the Todd Trust to apply for additional funding and a further $1000 per year for the next five years was offered, bringing the total for the biennial award to $4000.  The full list of recipients are: 2003: Bill Sewell 2005: Jenny Bornholdt 2007: Dinah Hawken  2009: Brian Turner  2011: Diana Bridge (awarded in Wellington, after the 2010 Christchurch earthquake resulted in the cancellation of that year's Festival) 2012: Riemke Ensing (the Award was presented in consecutive years to align with the full Christchurch Arts Festival) 2014: Michael Harlow  2016: Bob Orr 2018: Anne French 2020: Emma Neale

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