Urban Driftwood

My first evar poetry publication? Yes it is, and more.
Urban Driftwood is a collection of writing (poetry and prose) by some young Wellington-based Kiwis. It’s about the journey from being young to being less young in a city where the wind always blows. I’m one of the four writers, which should tip you off that this has been in the works for a long time: nine years, in fact, since Dan (of Freshly Ground) decided he was going to assemble it.
So this is writing from a decade ago. Best guess is that I was 18 when I wrote the earliest piece and 22 when I wrote the latest one. When Dan was finally bringing UD into being earlier this year, I bravely resisted the temptation to revise or censor anything, so it is an authentic snapshot of me and my voice a decade back from now. There is still much to like – in fact, I think my favourite piece of mine was the aforementioned earliest one, a short prose piece called “Tyrage” that made its debut on the Victoria University electronic bulletin board system when I was a wee first-year.
The collection is a nice blend of voices, which was always Dan’s intent – he, Jane and Stephen all bring distinctive rhythms and styles and they balance each other well. Jane’s meditative simplicity, Stephen’s shaggy-dog shrugs of tone, Dan’s thoughtful density and my whatever. I am pleased to say that it lives up to Dan’s initial hope that we four writers together would be more than the sum of our parts.
So I commend to you, Urban Driftwood. Well done, Dan, on getting it done!
Urban Driftwood is available on Lulu, the lovely net-based print-on-demand service. For US$10 (plus freight) a copy will be printed and bound and dispatched to your door.