These Collected Poems confirm Peter’s reputation as one of New Zealand’s finest poets. From evocations of the conformist ’50s to explorations of the post-modern era, his celebration of idiom and understanding of the modern itinerant mind have helped us to understand ourselves.
This volume makes possible a proper assessment of the scope and stature of Peter Bland’s work. These poems — often witty and beautiful — are a lifetime’s achievement, a testament to an ongoing power to engage us in his vision. Peter Bland arrived in New Zealand in 1954 and since the 1970s has divided his time between here and the UK, working as an actor, playwright and critic, while developing a poetry of increasing intimacy.