North

I'm back from the warm south after spending the best part of a week in the care of Bill Direen and the other good people of Dunedin. I've got plenty of photos and anecdotes to share, but the boss wants me to write six thousand words about Micronesia by Thursday.

In the meantime, I wanted to thank Kay McKenzie Cook for her generous review of my reading and the launch of Bill's journal Percutio last Wednesday night. I was a bit worried that I might seem like (or, indeed, be) an arrogant JAFA descending on Dunedin to recite inscrutable postmodern poetry, but these words from Kay have set me at ease:

Scott Hamilton's poetry I found to be grounded, interesting and almost-narrative. I liked it. The subject matter hints at the subversive. His poetry can sometimes segue, then end in an unexpected and abrupt manner, which I also like. He admitted to being a fan of Dr Who and sci-fi; an influence which I think adds an interesting edge and depth to his poems. He read in a non-bombastic, slightly self-deprecating manner. We like that down here. He was good value.

Kay hails from Southland, another unjustly neglected region of Aotearoa. The next time I cross the Cook Strait I want to get all the way to Bluff...