Octagon Poetry Reading with Claire Lacey and Rauhina Kohuwai-Banks + Open Mic!

Attendance is FREE, but if you have the means please support NAT by purchasing refreshments during the evening.

This is a hate-free zone - no bigotry, hate speech, transphobia, homophobia, or racism - bring only your creativity and community spirit.

Rauhina Kohuwai-Banks (né Scott-Fyfe) (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāi Pākehā) is a takatāpui poet, researcher and archivist based in Ōtepoti Dunedin. They whakapapa to Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Aerangi, Ingarangi and Koterangi. They have written poems and a research report about sea lions. In 2023, their poem nāwai, nāwai was highly commended for the Poetry in te reo Māori section in the Pikihuia Awards and published in Huia Short Stories 15.

Claire Lacey is a multidisciplinary writer, performer, educator and an all-purpose know-it-all. Claire’s first book of poetry, Twin Tongues, won the 2013 Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry, and they’ve been coasting on that accolade ever since. They are also the author of Selkie, a graphic novel illustrated by artist Sachie Ogawa. Claire also wrote a poetry manuscript for their PhD thesis, Concussion Episodes, a section of which was published as a chapbook by Model Press and can be found free online. Claire is interested in the ways poetry can live off the page, through visuals, sound and performance.
Claire’s poetry has been translated into French and Korean, and their work has appeared in publications including Landfall, 1964, takahē, The Windsor Review and Dandelion.

Your Collective committee:
Jackson
Mac MacDonald
Jasmine Taylor
Lee Thomson
Nicola Thorstensen
Sophia Wilson