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There are mothers and fathers, Kevin, whom we barely know.
They lift us. Eventually we all shall go
into the dark furniture of the radio.

from 'Kevin'

The last lines of Bill Manhire's astonishing poem 'Kevin' lie at the heart of this book. These poems want urgently to know how the secular spirit can lift itself in the face of mortality and human violence. They are full of richness and courage and surprise, turning from grief to curiosity; then to beauty, humour, anger, gratitude, acceptance - and once again to curiosity. Lifted is a book by a poet writing at the height of his powers.

'Turning the pages of Lifted, no reader can fail to be surprised and delighted by the variety of voices and tones ...Manhire shows not only his mature formal skills but his ability to look unflinchingly into the heart of things. Manhire's poems make us feel as if we are really there.' - Billy Collins, Dominion Post

'Manhire is in darkly brilliant form in this death-haunted but scintillating collection.' - Peter Simpson, New Zealand Herald (an NZ Herald 'Book of the Year')

Contents

Without Form 11
The God’s Journey 15
Song: Alzon 17
Across Brooklyn 18
The Ladder 19
Opoutere 20
Still Life with Wind in the Trees 25
The Writer 26
The First Film 28
After the Movie 29
Creative Nonfiction 30
The Party Next Door 31
Unusual Film Idea 32
An Inspector Calls 33
Hotel Belair 34
Encouragement 35
Dogs 36
Erebus Voices 40
The Monks 42
My Childhood in Russia 44
Mist 46
OE 47
Global Track 48
Two Literals 49
Entering America 50
Hotel Emergencies 51
The News 53
The Park 54
False William 56
Medical 57
Old Man Talking in His Sleep 58
Bumps 60
Death of a Poet 62
The Confident Troubador 64
Palais Lutetia 65
Villa Ephrussi 66
Birds of Europe 72
Menton 74
Hunky-dory 75

Kevin 79

Bill Manhire was born in Invercargill in 1946. He was his country's inaugural Poet Laureate and has won the New Zealand Book Award for Poetry four times. He holds a personal chair at the Victoria University of Wellington, where he directs the celebrated creative writing programme and the International Institute of ... read more

Praise for Bill Manhire Book of the week
Turning the pages of 'Lifted', no reader can fail to be surprised and delighted by the variety of voices and tones... Manhire shows not only his mature formal skills but his ability to look unflinchingly into the heart of things. He is a poet in which a sly sense of humour is coupled with a respect for whatever truths a poem can wring out of experience. ...Manhire’s poems make us feel as if we are really there. - Billy Collins, Dominion Post

Named one of The NZ HERALD'S 'Books of the Year'
Manhire is in darkly brilliant form in this death-haunted but scintillating collection. - Peter Simpson, New Zealand Herald

Named as one of The Listener's 'New Zealand's Best Books 2005'
Manhire risks accusations of sentimentality and produces a triumph. This is richly human work, which acknowledges its – and our – limitations and keeps reaching for the high windows, regardless. - Hugh Roberts, NZ Listener

The biggest noise in New Zealand poetry is Bill Manhire... Manhire has always known how to look at the human condition and state it simply through his poems. 'Lifted' is confident and emotive in what it tries to achieve. ...'Lifted' is shining stuff from truly one of our best poets. Definitely check this one out. - Hamesh Wyatt, Otago Daily Times

Manhire changes tack in every poem, coming at us with different techniques and different personae. It's a marvellously varied performance...Lifted is a short book, but few readers will be able to take it all in at a single sitting. It demands -and rewards- re-reading. - Iain Sharp, Sunday Star Times

An event to be celebrated . . . a powerful collection. - Tom Weston, The Press

He has matured sturdily, and grown to an impressive height, and put down roots so tenacious in their grip on the world that it’ll take the devil of a wind to topple him. - Michael Hulse, New Zealand Books

I love this latest collection of poems. . . They are hauntingly beautiful. - Alexandrina Ellis, Salient

The first thing that strikes the reader of the forty poems which make up Bill Manhire's Lifted is the absence of verbal clutter. read more

Echoes and quirks: Whimsy and elegies are strange bedfellows, says David Wheatley .The mysterious Lake Vostok has been in the news of late, as scientists attempt to bore below the Antarctic pack ice and make contact with its never-before-seen ecosystem. read more

Bill Manhire reads and discusses 'Erebus Voices' (2:29 mins) Podcast 1: Twenty Contemporary New Zealand Poets book launch (10:43 mins)

Quote of the Day Congratulations to Carcanet for paying equal attention to new poets and to modern classics. The Collected H.D., Mina Loy, William Carlos Williams, and Yvor Winters are all essential books, and Carcanet is doing a public service keeping them in print. Thom Gunn Home Authors Titles Paperback Hardback Limited Edition Journal CD eBook Imprints Aspects of Portugal Audio Books Carcanet Fiction Carcanet Film Carcanet Poetry Comma Press FyfieldBooks Lintott Press Lives and Letters Northern House OxfordPoets PN Review Sheep Meadow Press Information About Us Academic Enquiries Authors For Events Catalogue Contact Us Copyright and Permissions Join Our Mailing List Opportunities at Carcanet Press Enquiries PN Review Shopping Guide Stocklist Submission Guidelines Trade Information Resources Audio Interviews Gallery Reviews Video
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Lifted Bill Manhire RRP: GBP£ 9.95 Discount: 10% You Save: GBP£ 0.99 Price: GBP£ 8.96 Available Paperback ISBN: 978 1 857548 94 5 Categories: 21st Century, New Zealand Imprint: Carcanet Poetry Published: January 2007 216 x 135 mm 64 pages Publisher: Carcanet Press Description Excerpt Author Reviews Audio There are mothers and fathers, Kevin, whom we barely know. They lift us. Eventually we all shall go into the dark furniture of the radio. from 'Kevin' The last lines of Bill Manhire's astonishing poem 'Kevin' lie at the heart of this book. These poems want urgently to know how the secular spirit can lift itself in the face of mortality and human violence. They are full of richness and courage and surprise, turning from grief to curiosity; then to beauty, humour, anger, gratitude, acceptance - and once again to curiosity. Lifted is a book by a poet writing at the height of his powers. 'Turning the pages of Lifted, no reader can fail to be surprised and delighted by the variety of voices and tones ...Manhire shows not only his mature formal skills but his ability to look unflinchingly into the heart of things. Manhire's poems make us feel as if we are really there.' - Billy Collins, Dominion Post 'Manhire is in darkly brilliant form in this death-haunted but scintillating collection.' - Peter Simpson, New Zealand Herald (an NZ Herald 'Book of the Year') Contents Without Form 11 The God’s Journey 15 Song: Alzon 17 Across Brooklyn 18 The Ladder 19 Opoutere 20 Still Life with Wind in the Trees 25 The Writer 26 The First Film 28 After the Movie 29 Creative Nonfiction 30 The Party Next Door 31 Unusual Film Idea 32 An Inspector Calls 33 Hotel Belair 34 Encouragement 35 Dogs 36 Erebus Voices 40 The Monks 42 My Childhood in Russia 44 Mist 46 OE 47 Global Track 48 Two Literals 49 Entering America 50 Hotel Emergencies 51 The News 53 The Park 54 False William 56 Medical 57 Old Man Talking in His Sleep 58 Bumps 60 Death of a Poet 62 The Confident Troubador 64 Palais Lutetia 65 Villa Ephrussi 66 Birds of Europe 72 Menton 74 Hunky-dory 75 Kevin 79 Bill Manhire was born in Invercargill in 1946. He was his country's inaugural Poet Laureate and has won the New Zealand Book Award for Poetry four times. He holds a personal chair at the Victoria University of Wellington, where he directs the celebrated creative writing programme and the International Institute of ... read more Praise for Bill Manhire Book of the week Turning the pages of 'Lifted', no reader can fail to be surprised and delighted by the variety of voices and tones... Manhire shows not only his mature formal skills but his ability to look unflinchingly into the heart of things. He is a poet in which a sly sense of humour is coupled with a respect for whatever truths a poem can wring out of experience. ...Manhire’s poems make us feel as if we are really there. - Billy Collins, Dominion Post *Named one of The NZ HERALD'S* 'Books of the Year'** Manhire is in darkly brilliant form in this death-haunted but scintillating collection. - Peter Simpson, New Zealand Herald *Named as one of The Listener's* 'New Zealand's Best Books 2005'** Manhire risks accusations of sentimentality and produces a triumph. This is richly human work, which acknowledges its – and our – limitations and keeps reaching for the high windows, regardless. - Hugh Roberts, NZ Listener The biggest noise in New Zealand poetry is Bill Manhire... Manhire has always known how to look at the human condition and state it simply through his poems. 'Lifted' is confident and emotive in what it tries to achieve. ...'Lifted' is shining stuff from truly one of our best poets. Definitely check this one out. - Hamesh Wyatt, Otago Daily Times Manhire changes tack in every poem, coming at us with different techniques and different personae. It's a marvellously varied performance...Lifted is a short book, but few readers will be able to take it all in at a single sitting. It demands -and rewards- re-reading. - Iain Sharp, Sunday Star Times An event to be celebrated . . . a powerful collection. - Tom Weston, The Press He has matured sturdily, and grown to an impressive height, and put down roots so tenacious in their grip on the world that it’ll take the devil of a wind to topple him. - Michael Hulse, New Zealand Books I love this latest collection of poems. . . They are hauntingly beautiful. - Alexandrina Ellis, Salient The first thing that strikes the reader of the forty poems which make up Bill Manhire's Lifted is the absence of verbal clutter. read more Echoes and quirks: Whimsy and elegies are strange bedfellows, says David Wheatley .The mysterious Lake Vostok has been in the news of late, as scientists attempt to bore below the Antarctic pack ice and make contact with its never-before-seen ecosystem. read more Bill Manhire reads and discusses 'Erebus Voices' (2:29 mins) Podcast 1: Twenty Contemporary New Zealand Poets book launch (10:43 mins)	Share this... Quick Links Aspects of Portugal Audio Books Carcanet Fiction Carcanet Film Carcanet Poetry Comma Press FyfieldBooks Lintott Press Lives and Letters OxfordPoets PN Review Sheep Meadow Press The Carcanet Blog Book Launch: Distance and Memory by Peter Davidson read more Sam Ruddock: Bibliodiversity read more Lucy Burnett: An Eco-poetic Sensibility read more Chris Beckett: Looking for Abebe, the cook's son read more Richard Price: A Month in Portugal read more Let's Gimbal! read more
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