Raewyn Alexander 

Friday 23 August 
7.30-10pm  once and for all

Bio | Text | Audio

Raewyn is the author of two novels, Fat (1996) and Concrete (1998) and has has co-authored two non-fiction books, Bacon is Not a Vegetable( 701 Tips for Flatting), and Sweet: A Guide for New Zealand Teenagers.

She has had a great many short stories and poems published in a wide variety of magazines including Spin, Takahe, Poetry NZ.  Her first poetry collection, Love and Hate are Small Words with Big Names, was published in AUP New Poets 1(AUP, 1999).   She has been a member of various poetry groups including the Devonport Poets and the Poetry Brats.  

At the present time, Raewyn is doing performance poetry which involves the audience and hopes her 'page work' may do this also.  She is about to have poetry published in the USA, in an anthology of performance poets from around the world.  Raewyn sees herself as a poet first and all her other writing springs from that discipline.

lights stream past the ride we're on

this is where tomorrow's forgotten
long enough to remember how we love
man swaying away to the front
zeros across his back from the window
we flicker here travelling through the city

the truly individual forked mullhawk
haircut too much to describe
in less than three pages
Mexicans learning English in bars

embarrassed girl throwing up on her slingbacks
out the glass the uninvolved can afford open mouths
or the blank stares of bystander
saying names I have another luxury

taken from careful to flaming belly yahoos
telling the Japanese girl to scream at least once
for the fun of it with her backpack
free beers and old music

appearing from nowhere with something
we are magnetised 

• Julie's Tattoo crosses her back (nzepc)
    lo-fi (rm : 910KB, streaming)
    hi-fi (mp3 : 490KB)
• Born backwards in a town surrounded by cows (nzepc)
    lo-fi (rm : 310KB, streaming)
    hi-fi (mp3 : 610KB)
• She wore yellow gloves to drive (nzepc)
    lo-fi (rm : 280KB, streaming)
    hi-fi (mp3 : 550KB)
• She's become careful with her hair  (nzepc)
    lo-fi (rm : 170KB, streaming)
    hi-fi (mp3 : 350KB)
• Before Sunday trading we sneaked into this house bar (nzepc)
    lo-fi (rm : 290KB, streaming)
    hi-fi (mp3 : 560KB)
• Believing in you has rounded out loving (nzepc)
    lo-fi (rm : 180KB, streaming)
    hi-fi (mp3 : 380KB)

© Raewyn Alexander 2002

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Last updated 30 July, 2004