Penny Somervaille grew up and was educated in England, coming to NZ in 1957 where she met and married a New Zealander. She has three adult children and two adult grandchildren. Penny has written what she calls ‘stuff’ for a long time, but only took it more seriously in 2000 when she enrolled at the University of Auckland and completed a BA some years later. She mostly reads her work as opposed to publishing it: ‘I write to find out what I think, or to comment on what I read or hear.’ She has a longstanding association with Poetry Live in Auckland, and in 2014 Pennyroyal Press published her collection Small Decisions.
Poem notes
This selection of my work reflects the range of what I write. Something like ‘Eruptions’ is a spontaneous reaction to circumstances, while a poem like ‘Dear David Malouf’ responds to a person or an event. I have recently written more Memory poems. Perhaps as I grow older and older memories occupy more head space as the future dwindles. Some works swirl around in my head for weeks, others just emerge very quickly.
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