Bill Manhire facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bill Manhire
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Manhire in 2012
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| Born | 27 December 1946 Invercargill, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Poet, short story writer, emeritus professor |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Alma mater | |
| Spouse | Marion McLeod |
| Children | 2 |
William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a famous New Zealand poet and short story writer. He was New Zealand's very first Poet Laureate from 1997 to 1998. This special title is given to a poet who is seen as the best in the country.
Bill Manhire started New Zealand's first creative writing course at Victoria University of Wellington in 1975. He also founded the International Institute of Modern Letters in 2001. He has always worked hard to promote New Zealand books and poems. Many top New Zealand writers learned from him at Victoria University. He has won many important awards, like the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in 2007. He also received an Arts Foundation Icon Award in 2018.
Experts say he is one of the best New Zealand poets of his time. One critic, Peter Simpson, said that Bill Manhire has helped more people enjoy poetry in New Zealand than anyone else.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Bill Manhire was born in Invercargill, a city in New Zealand. His mother was from Scotland and had a science degree. His father ran pubs. They met and married during World War II. His mother came to New Zealand on a ship with other "war brides" in 1946.
In his book Under the Influence (2003), he wrote about growing up in different small-town pubs in the South Island. He went to Otago Boys' High School. Later, he studied at the University of Otago in Dunedin. He earned several degrees there between 1967 and 1970. He then studied old Norse stories at University College London from 1970 to 1973.
When he was a young writer, Bill Manhire sent some poems to Charles Brasch, a well-known writer. He was very happy that Brasch encouraged him to keep writing and take his work seriously. In Dunedin, he also met other writers like James K. Baxter.
Career Highlights
In the 1960s, while still at university, Bill Manhire's first poems were published. They appeared in New Zealand magazines like Landfall. While he was studying in London in the early 1970s, his poems were also published in British magazines.
First Books and Collaborations
His first book, Malady, came out in 1970. It was a very unusual poem with only four words arranged in different ways on the page. It also had drawings by the artist Ralph Hotere. Bill Manhire's second book, The Elaboration (1972), was also made with Ralph Hotere.
Around this time, Bill Manhire and another poet, Kevin Cunningham, started their own small publishing company called Amphedesma Press. They published their own poems and those of their friends.
Teaching Creative Writing
In 1973, Bill Manhire returned to New Zealand. He started teaching in the English department at Victoria University of Wellington. In 1975, he began New Zealand's first creative writing course there. He taught this course for over 25 years. It had a huge impact on New Zealand literature. Many famous New Zealand writers, like Elizabeth Knox and Jenny Bornholdt, learned from him.
In 1997, he published Mutes & Earthquakes. This book was a collection of works by his former students. The introduction to the book started with two pieces of advice: "1. Write what you know, and / 2. Write what you don't know".
From 2001 to 2013, he was the first director of the International Institute of Modern Letters. This institute offers advanced degrees in creative writing. Students from the Institute include Eleanor Catton and Catherine Chidgey. In 2016, the building for the institute was named the Bill Manhire House. This was to honor his important work for the university and for New Zealand writing.
Poetry and Prose
Bill Manhire has published many collections of poems. His Collected Poems came out in 2001. His poetry is known for playing with words and trying new things. It also often has a funny and thoughtful sense of humor. One critic, Iain Sharp, said his work is "notable for its oblique lyricism and sense of wonder".
After his fifth poetry book, Good Looks (1982), he wrote prose for a while. He published The Brain of Katherine Mansfield (1988). This book was like a "choose-your-own-adventure" story. He also released The New Land (1990), a collection of funny short stories.
Antarctic Adventures
In 1998, Bill Manhire traveled to Antarctica for several weeks. He went with poet Chris Orsman and painter Nigel Brown. This trip was part of a program for artists to visit Antarctica. His experience there inspired many poems. These poems became part of his collection What to Call Your Child (1999). He also edited a book of writings about Antarctica called The Wide White Page: Writers Imagine Antarctica (2004).
In 2004, for the 25th anniversary of the Erebus air disaster, Bill Manhire wrote a poem called "Erebus Voices". Sir Edmund Hillary read this poem at a special service in Antarctica.
Promoting New Zealand Writing
Throughout his career, Bill Manhire has been a big supporter of New Zealand poetry and other local writing. He has edited several collections of New Zealand works. These include NZ Listener Short Stories (1977) and Some Other Country: New Zealand's Best Short Stories (with his wife Marion McLeod, first published in 1984).
His collection of New Zealand poetry, 100 New Zealand Poems (1993), was very popular. It was later made even bigger as 121 New Zealand Poems (2005). He also helped start the online Best New Zealand Poems series in 2000. For many years, he had a poetry segment on the Kim Hill Show on Radio New Zealand.
Working with Other Artists
Bill Manhire has often worked with other artists. He has collaborated with artist Ralph Hotere, scientist Paul Callaghan, composer Norman Meehan, and singer Hannah Griffin. His work with Norman Meehan and Hannah Griffin has led to several music albums. These albums feature Bill Manhire's words as lyrics.
Awards and Honours
Bill Manhire has received many of New Zealand's top literary awards. These include:
- The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship in 2004.
- An Arts Foundation Laureate Award in 2004.
- The Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in 2007.
He was the first New Zealand Poet Laureate in 1996. In 1999, he was a visiting professor at Georgetown University in the United States.
In 2005, he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to literature. This is a high honor in New Zealand. That same year, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Otago. In 2010, he became a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi. In 2018, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand gave him the Icon Award. This award recognizes New Zealand's greatest artists. Only 20 living artists can hold this award at one time. In 2021, he received another honorary doctorate from University College London.
His work has won the Poetry Prize at the New Zealand Book Awards six times:
- 1978: How to Take Your Clothes Off at the Picnic
- 1985: Zoetropes
- 1992: Milky Way Bar
- 1994: 100 New Zealand Poems (as editor)
- 1996: My Sunshine
- 2006: Lifted
Personal Life
Bill Manhire is married to journalist Marion McLeod. They have two children, Vanessa and Toby. Both of their children are also journalists and writers.
Selected Works
Poetry Collections
- 1970: Malady (with Ralph Hotere)
- 1972: The Elaboration (with Ralph Hotere)
- 1977: How to Take Off Your Clothes at the Picnic
- 1981: Zoetropes
- 1982: Good Looks
- 1991: Milky Way Bar
- 1996: My Sunshine
- 1999: What to Call Your Child
- 2001: Collected Poems
- 2005: Lifted
- 2010: The Victims of Lightning
- 2017: Some Things to Place in a Coffin
- 2020: Wow
Books He Edited
- 1984: Some Other Country: New Zealand's Best Short Stories (with Marion McLeod)
- 1989: Six by Six: Short Stories by New Zealand's Best Writers
- 1993: 100 New Zealand Poems
- 1997: Mutes & Earthquakes: Bill Manhire's Creative Writing Course at Victoria
- 2004: The Wide White Page: Writers Imagine Antarctica
- 2005: 121 New Zealand Poems
- 2006: Are Angels OK? The Parallel Universes of New Zealand Writers and Scientists (with Paul Callaghan)
Other Books and Projects
- 1986: Maurice Gee (a biography)
- 1988: The Brain of Katherine Mansfield (a choose-your-own-adventure book)
- 1990: The New Land: a Picture Book (short stories)
- 2003: Under the Influence (his memoir)
- 2010: Buddhist Rain (album with music by Norman Meehan and Hannah Griffin)
- 2012: These Rough Notes (book and album, with Anne Noble, Norman Meehan and Hannah Griffin)
- 2016: The Stories of Bill Manhire (collection of short stories)
See also
- New Zealand literature
