Robert Sullivan (poet): Difference between revisions

Robert Sullivan
Robert Sullivan
	Sullivan, 2011
Born	1967 (age 57–58); Auckland, New Zealand
Occupation	Poet; academic; editor;
Education	PhD, University of Auckland
Period	1990–

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Robert Sullivan (born 1967) is a Māori poet, academic and editor. His published poetry collections include Jazz Waiata (1990), Star Waka (1999) and Shout Ha! to the Sky (2010). His books are postmodern, explore social and racial issues, and explore aspects of Māori culture and history.^[1]

Biography and writing

Sullivan is of Māori and Irish descent. His grandfather was an immigrant to New Zealand from Galway. He identifies with the Ngā Puhi (Ngāti Manu/Ngāti Hau) and Kāi Tahu iwi, and describes himself as multicultural.^[2]

He graduated from the University of Auckland with a PhD and worked as Associate Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Programme at the University of Hawaiʻi.^[3]^[4] Sullivan led until recently the creative writing programme at the Manukau Institute of Technology before becoming the Deputy Chief Executive Māori there from 2018 to 2020.^[5] He is an editor of online literary journal trout.^[6]

Sullivan's nine books include the bestselling Star Waka (1999), reprinted five times and shortlisted in 2000 for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Maui: Legends of the Outcast (1997), illustrated by Chris Slane, the first New Zealand graphic novel,^{[citation needed]} was shortlisted for the LIANZA Russell Clark Medal.^[7] His book-length poem Captain Cook in the Underworld was long-listed for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards in the Poetry Category. It was originally commissioned as the libretto for an oratorio by noted composer John Psathas which has been performed at the Wellington and Auckland Town Halls by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Orpheus Choir of Wellington.^[8] His first collection, Jazz Waiata, won the PEN (NZ) Best First Book Award, and his children's retelling of Māori myths and legends, Weaving Earth and Sky, illustrated by Gavin Bishop, won the non-fiction category and was Children's Book of the Year in the 2003 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. With Albert Wendt and Reina Whaitiri, he has co-edited several anthologies of poetry.^[9] Their Polynesian poetry anthology, Whetu Moana, won the Reference and Anthology category in the 2004 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and their Māori poetry anthology, Puna Wai Kōrero, won the 2015 Creative Writing category in the Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards.^[1]^[10]

His wide-ranging work explores dimensions of Māori tradition as well as "contemporary urban experiences, including local racial and social concerns."^[11] His writing has a post modern feel and shows acute awareness of important Aotearoa/New Zealand issues while linking them in a complex way back to the cultural past.^[12] In the poetic narrative Star Waka (1999), for example, Sullivan employs traditional Māori story-telling techniques (oral tradition) in order to link contemporary and traditional topics from Aotearoa/New Zealand with concepts and ideas from a European background. This approach allows him to study the identity relation between Māori and Pākehā within transcultural themes of voyaging, personal and national, of the poet and of Māori. In a sense, the poems in Star Waka "themselves function like a waka."^[13] Star Waka was "lauded for its poetic flair".^[4]

He is "widely seen as one of the most important contemporary Māori poets".^[14]

Critical reception

Sullivan's Shout Ha! to the Sky (2010) was described by Paula Green in the New Zealand Herald as "a stunning symphony of love, politics, tenderness, confession, sharpness and insight", which "should be in every school library and accompany the journey of any reader drawn to the history and politics of where we come from and who we are".^[15] She described his collection Cassino (2010), which paid tribute to those who died and fought at the Battle of Monte Cassino during World War II, as again highlighting his "wide-ranging voice" and being "sumptuous in content yet simple in execution".^[15]

Works

Jazz Waiata (1990)
Piki Ake!: Poems 1990–92 (1993)
Maui – Legends of the Outcast (1996)
Star Waka (1999; German translation: Sternen-Waka, 2012)
Weaving Earth and Sky : Myths & Legends of Aotearoa (2002)
Captain Cook in the Underworld (2002)
Voice Carried My Family (2005)
Shout Ha! to the Sky (2010)
Cassino: City of Martyrs (2010)

Wendt, Albert; Whaitiri, Reina; Sullivan, Robert, eds. (December 2002). Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English. Auckland Univ Press. ISBN 9781869402730.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
Wendt, Albert; Whaitiri, Reina; Sullivan, Robert, eds. (September 2010). Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English. Auckland: Auckland UP. ISBN 9781869404482.
Puna Wai Kōrero: An Anthology of Māori Poetry in English (2014) coedited with Reina Whaitiri

References

^ ^a ^b "Robert Sullivan". Academy of New Zealand Literature. 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
^ Sullivan, Robert (November 2006). "A Brief Introduction". Aotearoa Ethnic Journal. 1 (2). Archived from the original on 5 February 2013.
^ Sullivan, Robert (2015). Mana Moana: Wayfinding and Five Indigenous Poets (Doctoral thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland. hdl:2292/25497.
^ ^a ^b Green, P., and Ricketts, H., 99 Ways into New Zealand Poetry, Vintage, 2010.
^ "School of Creative Writing – Faculty of Creative Arts". Manukau.ac.nz. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
^ "TROUT – SUBMISSIONS". trout. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
^ "LIANZA Russell Clark Award". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
^ Sullivan, Robert (2002). Captain Cook in the Underworld. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press. ISBN 978-1-8694-0281-5.
^ Noel-Tod, Jeremy, ed. (2013). "Sullivan, Robert (1967–)". Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1917-4452-5. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
^ "Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
^ "New Zealand Book Council". Bookcouncil.org.nz. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
^ JENSEN, K. „Sullivan, Robert.“ The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. R. Robinson & N. Wattie (Hg.). Melbourne: Oxford UP, 1998, 519.
^ "Star Waka – Auckland University Press – The University of Auckland". Press.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
^ "SULLIVAN, R.“ Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. D. HEAD (Hg.). Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2006, 1078.
^ ^a ^b Green, Paula (7 March 2011). "Poetry Reviews: Fossicking in the past". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

External links

[ANZ_profile-1] "Robert Sullivan". Academy of New Zealand Literature. 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.

[2] Sullivan, Robert (November 2006). "A Brief Introduction". Aotearoa Ethnic Journal. 1 (2). Archived from the original on 5 February 2013.

[3] Sullivan, Robert (2015). Mana Moana: Wayfinding and Five Indigenous Poets (Doctoral thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland. hdl:2292/25497.

[autogenerated1-4] Green, P., and Ricketts, H., 99 Ways into New Zealand Poetry, Vintage, 2010.

[5] "School of Creative Writing – Faculty of Creative Arts". Manukau.ac.nz. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.

[6] "TROUT – SUBMISSIONS". trout. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

[7] "LIANZA Russell Clark Award". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

[8] Sullivan, Robert (2002). Captain Cook in the Underworld. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press. ISBN 978-1-8694-0281-5.

[9] Noel-Tod, Jeremy, ed. (2013). "Sullivan, Robert (1967–)". Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1917-4452-5. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

[10] "Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

[11] "New Zealand Book Council". Bookcouncil.org.nz. Retrieved 3 October 2012.

[12] JENSEN, K. „Sullivan, Robert.“ The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. R. Robinson & N. Wattie (Hg.). Melbourne: Oxford UP, 1998, 519.

[13] "Star Waka – Auckland University Press – The University of Auckland". Press.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 3 October 2012.

[14] "SULLIVAN, R.“ Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. D. HEAD (Hg.). Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2006, 1078.

[Green-15] Green, Paula (7 March 2011). "Poetry Reviews: Fossicking in the past". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

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@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 ==Biography and writing==
-Sullivan is of Māori and [[Irish people|Irish]] descent. His grandfather was an immigrant to New Zealand from [[Galway]]. He identifies with the [[Ngā Puhi]] (Ngāti Manu/Ngāti Hau) and [[Ngāi Tahu|Kāi Tahu]] [[iwi]], and describes himself as multicultural.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sullivan |first1=Robert |title=A Brief Introduction |journal=Aotearoa Ethnic Journal |date=November 2006 |volume=1 |issue=2 |url=http://www.aen.org.nz/journal/1/2/sullivan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205114223/http://www.aen.org.nz/journal/1/2/sullivan.html |archive-date=5 February 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
+Sullivan is of Māori and Irish descent. His grandfather was an immigrant to New Zealand from [[Galway]]. He identifies with the [[Ngā Puhi]] (Ngāti Manu/Ngāti Hau) and [[Ngāi Tahu|Kāi Tahu]] [[iwi]], and describes himself as multicultural.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sullivan |first1=Robert |title=A Brief Introduction |journal=Aotearoa Ethnic Journal |date=November 2006 |volume=1 |issue=2 |url=http://www.aen.org.nz/journal/1/2/sullivan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205114223/http://www.aen.org.nz/journal/1/2/sullivan.html |archive-date=5 February 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
-He graduated from the University of Auckland with a PhD and worked as Associate Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Programme at the [[University of Hawai'i]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Sullivan |first=Robert |year=2015 |type=Doctoral thesis |title=Mana Moana: Wayfinding and Five Indigenous Poets |publisher=ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland |hdl=2292/25497 |url=https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/25497}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">Green, P., and Ricketts, H., 99 Ways into New Zealand Poetry, Vintage, 2010.</ref> Sullivan led until recently the creative writing programme at the [[Manukau Institute of Technology]] before becoming the Deputy Chief Executive Māori there from 2018 to 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manukau.ac.nz/creativearts/school-of-creative-writing |title=School of Creative Writing – Faculty of Creative Arts |publisher=Manukau.ac.nz |date=20 February 2012 |accessdate=3 October 2012}}</ref> He is an editor of online literary journal ''trout''.<ref>{{cite web |title=TROUT – SUBMISSIONS |url=http://www.trout.auckland.ac.nz/about.htm |website=trout |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref>
+He graduated from the University of Auckland with a PhD and worked as Associate Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Programme at the [[University of Hawaiʻi]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Sullivan |first=Robert |year=2015 |type=Doctoral thesis |title=Mana Moana: Wayfinding and Five Indigenous Poets |publisher=ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland |hdl=2292/25497 |url=https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/25497}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">Green, P., and Ricketts, H., 99 Ways into New Zealand Poetry, Vintage, 2010.</ref> Sullivan led until recently the creative writing programme at the [[Manukau Institute of Technology]] before becoming the Deputy Chief Executive Māori there from 2018 to 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manukau.ac.nz/creativearts/school-of-creative-writing |title=School of Creative Writing – Faculty of Creative Arts |publisher=Manukau.ac.nz |date=20 February 2012 |accessdate=3 October 2012}}</ref> He is an editor of online literary journal ''trout''.<ref>{{cite web |title=TROUT – SUBMISSIONS |url=http://www.trout.auckland.ac.nz/about.htm |website=trout |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref>
-Sullivan's nine books include the bestselling ''Star Waka'' (1999), reprinted five times and shortlisted in 2000 for the [[Montana New Zealand Book Awards]]. ''Maui: Legends of the Outcast'' (1997), illustrated by [[Chris Slane]], the first New Zealand graphic novel,{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} was shortlisted for the [[LIANZA]] Russell Clark Medal.<ref>{{cite web |title=LIANZA Russell Clark Award |url=https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/russell-clark-award/ |website=Christchurch City Libraries |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref> His book-length poem ''Captain Cook in the Underworld'' was long-listed for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards in the Poetry Category. It was originally commissioned as the [[libretto]] for an oratorio by noted composer [[John Psathas]] which has been performed at the Wellington and Auckland Town Halls by the [[New Zealand Symphony Orchestra]] and the [[Orpheus Choir of Wellington]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sullivan |first1=Robert |title=Captain Cook in the Underworld |date=2002 |publisher=Auckland University Press |location=Auckland, N.Z. |isbn=978-1-8694-0281-5}}</ref>  His first collection, ''Jazz Waiata'', won the PEN (NZ) Best First Book Award, and his children's retelling of Māori myths and legends, ''Weaving Earth and Sky'', illustrated by [[Gavin Bishop]], won the non-fiction category and was Children's Book of the Year in the 2003 [[New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards]]. With [[Albert Wendt]] and [[Reina Whaitiri]], he has co-edited several anthologies of poetry.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Noel-Tod |editor1-first=Jeremy |encyclopedia=Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry |title=Sullivan, Robert (1967–) |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199640256.001.0001/acref-9780199640256-e-1717 |access-date=23 February 2021 |date=2013 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-1917-4452-5}}</ref> Their Polynesian poetry anthology, ''Whetu Moana'', won the Reference and Anthology category in the 2004 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and their Māori poetry anthology, ''Puna Wai Kōrero'', won the 2015 Creative Writing category in the Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards.<ref name="ANZ profile"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards |url=https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/nga-kupu-ora-aotearoa-maori-book-awards/ |website=Christchurch City Libraries |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref>
+Sullivan's nine books include the bestselling ''Star Waka'' (1999), reprinted five times and shortlisted in 2000 for the [[Montana New Zealand Book Awards]]. ''Maui: Legends of the Outcast'' (1997), illustrated by [[Chris Slane]], the first New Zealand graphic novel,{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} was shortlisted for the [[LIANZA]] Russell Clark Medal.<ref>{{cite web |title=LIANZA Russell Clark Award |url=https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/russell-clark-award/ |website=Christchurch City Libraries |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref> His book-length poem ''Captain Cook in the Underworld'' was long-listed for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards in the Poetry Category. It was originally commissioned as the [[libretto]] for an oratorio by noted composer [[John Psathas]] which has been performed at the Wellington and Auckland Town Halls by the [[New Zealand Symphony Orchestra]] and the [[Orpheus Choir of Wellington]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sullivan |first1=Robert |title=Captain Cook in the Underworld |date=2002 |publisher=Auckland University Press |location=Auckland, N.Z. |isbn=978-1-8694-0281-5}}</ref> His first collection, ''Jazz Waiata'', won the PEN (NZ) Best First Book Award, and his children's retelling of Māori myths and legends, ''Weaving Earth and Sky'', illustrated by [[Gavin Bishop]], won the non-fiction category and was Children's Book of the Year in the 2003 [[New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards]]. With [[Albert Wendt]] and [[Reina Whaitiri]], he has co-edited several anthologies of poetry.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Noel-Tod |editor1-first=Jeremy |encyclopedia=Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry |title=Sullivan, Robert (1967–) |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199640256.001.0001/acref-9780199640256-e-1717 |access-date=23 February 2021 |date=2013 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-1917-4452-5}}</ref> Their Polynesian poetry anthology, ''Whetu Moana'', won the Reference and Anthology category in the 2004 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and their Māori poetry anthology, ''Puna Wai Kōrero'', won the 2015 Creative Writing category in the Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards.<ref name="ANZ profile"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards |url=https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/nga-kupu-ora-aotearoa-maori-book-awards/ |website=Christchurch City Libraries |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref>
 His wide-ranging work explores dimensions of Māori tradition as well as "contemporary urban experiences, including local racial and social concerns."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Profiles/Sullivan,%20Robert |title=New Zealand Book Council |publisher=Bookcouncil.org.nz |date= |accessdate=3 October 2012}}</ref> His writing has a post modern feel and shows acute awareness of important [[Aotearoa]]/New Zealand issues while linking them in a complex way back to the cultural past.<ref>JENSEN, K. „Sullivan, Robert.“ The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. R. Robinson & N.
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 ==Works==
-* ''Jazz Waiata'' (1990)
+*''Jazz Waiata'' (1990)
-* ''Piki Ake!: Poems 1990–92'' (1993)
+*''Piki Ake!: Poems 1990–92'' (1993)
-* ''Maui – Legends of the Outcast'' (1996)
+*''Maui – Legends of the Outcast'' (1996)
-* ''Star Waka'' (1999; German translation: ''Sternen-Waka'', 2012)
+*''Star Waka'' (1999; German translation: ''Sternen-Waka'', 2012)
 * ''Weaving Earth and Sky : Myths & Legends of Aotearoa'' (2002)
-* ''Captain Cook in the Underworld'' (2002)
+*''Captain Cook in the Underworld'' (2002)
-* ''Voice Carried My Family'' (2005)
+*''Voice Carried My Family'' (2005)
-* ''Shout Ha! to the Sky'' (2010)
+*''Shout Ha! to the Sky'' (2010)
-* ''Cassino: City of Martyrs'' (2010)
+*''Cassino: City of Martyrs'' (2010)
-* {{Cite book|title=Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English |editor1-first=Albert |editor1-last=Wendt |editor1-link=Albert Wendt |editor2-first=Reina |editor2-last=Whaitiri |editor2-link=Reina Whaitiri |editor3-first=Robert |editor3-last=Sullivan|editor3-link=Robert Sullivan (poet) |publisher=Auckland Univ Press|year=December 2002 |isbn=9781869402730}}
+*{{Cite book|title=Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English |editor1-first=Albert |editor1-last=Wendt |editor1-link=Albert Wendt |editor2-first=Reina |editor2-last=Whaitiri |editor2-link=Reina Whaitiri |editor3-first=Robert |editor3-last=Sullivan|editor3-link=Robert Sullivan (poet) |publisher=Auckland Univ Press|year=December 2002 |isbn=9781869402730}}
-* {{cite book |editor1-first=Albert |editor1-last=Wendt |editor1-link=Albert Wendt |editor2-first=Reina |editor2-last=Whaitiri |editor2-link=Reina Whaitiri |editor3-first=Robert |editor3-last=Sullivan |title=Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English |location=Auckland |publisher=Auckland UP |date=September 2010 |isbn=9781869404482}}
+*{{cite book |editor1-first=Albert |editor1-last=Wendt |editor1-link=Albert Wendt |editor2-first=Reina |editor2-last=Whaitiri |editor2-link=Reina Whaitiri |editor3-first=Robert |editor3-last=Sullivan |title=Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English |location=Auckland |publisher=Auckland UP |date=September 2010 |isbn=9781869404482}}
-* ''Puna Wai Kōrero: An Anthology of Māori Poetry in English'' (2014) coedited with Reina Whaitiri
+*''Puna Wai Kōrero: An Anthology of Māori Poetry in English'' (2014) coedited with Reina Whaitiri
 ==References==
@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 ==External links==
-* [https://www.anzliterature.com/member/robert-sullivan/ Academy of New Zealand Literature author page]
+*[https://www.anzliterature.com/member/robert-sullivan/ Academy of New Zealand Literature author page]
-* [http://www.nzlf.auckland.ac.nz/author/?a_id=154 New Zealand Literature File: Robert Sullivan]
+*[http://www.nzlf.auckland.ac.nz/author/?a_id=154 New Zealand Literature File: Robert Sullivan]
-* [http://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/authors/sullivan/index.asp New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre: Robert Sullivan]
+*[http://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/authors/sullivan/index.asp New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre: Robert Sullivan]
-* [http://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/pasifika/sullivan3.asp Pasifika Poetry: Video-Interview with Robert Sullivan, conducted by Selina Tusitala Marsh]
+*[http://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/pasifika/sullivan3.asp Pasifika Poetry: Video-Interview with Robert Sullivan, conducted by Selina Tusitala Marsh]
-* [http://waterbridgereview.org/012005/cnv_sullivan_p1.php WaterBridge Review (January 2005): Conversation with Robert Sullivan]
+*[http://waterbridgereview.org/012005/cnv_sullivan_p1.php WaterBridge Review (January 2005): Conversation with Robert Sullivan]
 {{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Robert (New Zealand Poet)}}
+[[Category:1967 births]]
+[[Category:Living people]]
+[[Category:20th-century New Zealand poets]]
+[[Category:21st-century New Zealand poets]]
 [[Category:New Zealand poets]]
 [[Category:New Zealand male poets]]
 [[Category:New Zealand Māori writers]]
-[[Category:Living people]]
 [[Category:Ngāpuhi people]]
 [[Category:Ngāi Tahu people]]
-[[Category:1967 births]]
 [[Category:Academic staff of Manukau Institute of Technology]]
-[[Category:20th-century New Zealand poets]]
-[[Category:21st-century New Zealand poets]]
 [[Category:University of Auckland alumni]]

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