Former New Zealand Poet Laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh’s first book for children has been judged the supreme winner at the 2020 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Mophead was awarded the highest prize in children’s publishing – The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year – during a virtual presentation this evening to celebrate this year’s awards. The judges said Mophead is “clever, joyful and inspiring, with not a smidgen of pretension or condescension”. They went as far as calling the book “perfect” – describing it as a taonga that should be placed in the hands of every child in Aotearoa, especially young Pasifika children who might not yet know their own creative power. “We love this book’s design and production. We love that it’s part picture book, part graphic novel, part memoir, part poem – its form is exactly what it wants and needs to be, which is the message of the book too,” says convenor of judges Jane Arthur. Mophead recounts Marsh’s journey from self-conscious child unsure of her place in the world to being New Zealand’s Poet Laureate rubbing shoulders with world leaders and literary luminaries, and delivers a powerful message that your difference is what makes a difference. https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards-for-children-and-young-adults/news/

For services to poetry, literature and the Pacific community Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh is the current New Zealand Poet Laureate and is an Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, specialising in Māori and Pacific Literary Studies and Creative Writing. Dr Tusitala Marsh’s poetry has been published in more than 70 national and international anthologies, academic books, literary and scholarly journals, and literary websites. Her publications included ‘Fast Talking PI’ (2009), which was named Best First Book at the 2010 New Zealand Book Awards, ‘Dark Sparring’ (2013), and ‘Tightrope’ (2017). She coordinates Pasifika Poetry, a companion website of the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre and the only dedicated online audio, visual and textual archive of Pacific poets. Since 2005 she has been involved with more than 140 poetic performances nationally and internationally and has led more than 110 workshops for community and professional organisations. Since 2002 she has been on the Board of the New Zealand Book Council and brings poetry to low decile schools via the Book Council’s Writers in Schools Project. She is current Conference Convenor of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies. Dr Tusitala Marsh represented Tuvalu at the 2012 London Olympics Poetry Parnassus.

A 45 minute presentation on the importance of local story telling on the global stage

From NZSA press release: Acclaimed poet and scholar, Selina Tusitala-Marsh, has been made Honorary Literary Fellow in the New Zealand Society of Authors' annual Waitangi Day Honours. "As the country's largest writers' organisation, we believe it's important to celebrate significant literary achievements, especially on the international stage," said NZSA President, Kyle Mewburn. "Each year more and more kiwi writers are achieving exceptional things internationally. Last year was no exception." "As 2016's Commonwealth Poet, this year's NZSA Literary Fellow, Selina Tusitala-Marsh, was able to share her unique and powerful voice with the world. This included a memorable performance before the Queen at the Commonwealth Day of Observance in Westminster Abbey, which placed the diversity of our local poetry in the international spotlight," Mewburn said. See: http://booksellers.co.nz/book-news/awardsresidencies/poet-honoured-waitangi-day https://nzpoetryshelf.com/2017/02/06/poet-honoured-on-waitangi-day-selina-tusitala-marsh-honorary-literary/

Requested by the University of Auckland's The Creative Thinking Project to compose a poem about NZ for world renown Chinese Calligraphy Artist Wang Dongling to translate. It is currently exhibited at the Gus Fisher Gallery, and has been gifted to the University's new Confucius Centre.

Tasked with judging the Poetry section (45 books) for this National Book Awards Event.

As a mark of esteem, iconic NZ portraiture artist Annette Isbey recently painted my life-size portrait, to be displayed publicly like those of other notable New Zealand poets, including Janet Frame, Hone Tuwhare, and Albert Wendt. Isbey has gifted it to the University of Auckland.

Commissioned to write and perform a poem for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on behalf of the 53 members of the Commonwealth for Commonwealth Observance Day, see: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/waiheke-westminster-kiwi-poet-performing-queen \

A titled instated by the Commonwealth Education Foundation, London.

‘White Black Desiring’ selected for Best New Zealand Poems: International Institute for Modern Letters, Victoria University, http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP15/contents.html.

Fast Talking PI continues to be used as a form of poetic inspiration and teaching tool in schools as is evident in online learning resources such as Tamaki Primary School’s ‘Year Nine Ninjas’ (2015) and Sir Edumund Hillary Middle School’s ‘Mana Thinkers’ (2016) where teachers post lesson plans re: Fast Talking PI alongside published students own versions of the poem.

‘Page II’ selected for Best New Zealand Poems: International Institute for Modern Letters, Victoria University, http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/iiml/bestnzpoems/BNZP13/contents.html.

Awarded to my first collection to poetry, Fast Talking PI (AUP, 2009)