Poet Sam Hunt (poet)

hunt among younger new zealand poets began published in late 1960s. first published in landfall in 1967. hunt , other young poets interested in daily linguistic usage , in natural units of speech rather special poetic language. expressed in restoration of oral aspects of poetry , stress on performance.

many of poems characteristically expressions of feeling in single surface line leads poignant close. own experience single subject; moments in life, love , loss, , poems father, mother , sons. number of hunt s works share common themes , characters, such poems porirua friday night , girl black eye in grocer s shop, both of feature same female character. hunt writes geared personal performance: lyrics deliberately uncomplicated , colloquial; traditional forms , regular rhythms allow stories , myths [to be] fleshed , invested energy , power . critics have noted hunt s unabashed romanticism . hunt wrote, romantics, say,/ don t ever die! (second song ). hunt has been called kind of [ laconic ] jack kerouac – poems (he has called them roadsongs ) direct , simple, surprised own powerful emotion .

his romanticism has been compared of new zealand poet, hone tuwhare , romanticism has been credited contributing popularity of both poets. late 1960s until 1997, hunt lived in number of locations around pauatahanui inlet near wellington. many of events in each dwelling described in verse, notably bottle creek (where joined famous black , white sheepdog, minstrel ), battle hill (where older son, tom, born), death s corner (formerly farmhouse of mr death) , boatshed in paremata. other poems (see above) set in porirua nearby. in 1997 hunt moved waiheke island near auckland.

he lives in kaipara in northland younger son, alf.

hunt has been central figure in new zealand literature since publication of first mature work bottle creek: selected poems 1967–69 in 1969, published when poet aged 23. prolific writer in 1970s–1990s. focusing on public performance aspects of poetry, hunt young poet reached wider audience. hunt pointed out how poetry showed intellectuality of contemporaries , inclination see popular culture input rather output. of hunt s output in style similar of denis glover, alistair campbell, , james k. baxter. these poets personal friends influences on hunt. baxter particularly important to, , wrote many poems for, hunt. in 1 of important of these poems, letter sam hunt, baxter provided advice young hunt. hunt delivers baxter poems in performances , has claimed have committed 200 of them memory. many of hunt s performance tours have been undertaken poet , fellow exuberant , gary mccormick.

hunt has high regard other twentieth-century english language poets such william butler yeats, w. h. auden , dylan thomas (hunt particularly loves thomas poem, in craft or sullen art, sees speaking own mission poet; has said gives occupation (to customs officers , such) sullen artist ). loves foreign language poets such italian, salvatore quasimodo, , hungarian poet jozsef attila (hunt recites attila s poem hetedik or seventh familiar in both english , hungarian (having heard child delivered hungarian friend of family)). hunt admires work of bob dylan amongst many other poets. own poems, hunt, in performances, recites poems these poets, whether famous, obscure or anonymous (from unlikely sources, example war cry). quality of poems important him. after publishing gap of decade, hunt has published in years since 2007. hunt s book sales far exceed new zealand poets.

in april 2009, new zealand musician david kilgour, of cult band clean, released album on poems hunt reinvented song lyrics. in 2014, hunt , kilgour reunited heavy 8s, create second album. unlike first album, kilgour lead vocalist, hunt lead vocalist on 9th . album released in may 2015 critical acclaim , supported gigs in queenstown, dunedin, wellington , auckland following release.