English Department - University of Canterbury

Those with an interest in critical animal studies and the environment might be interested in this upcoming talk from recent New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies PhD grad Emily Major, drawing from her thesis about the ways possums are framed as pests in Aotearoa.

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Huge congratulations to Mat Daniel, who this morning successfully defended his PhD thesis, "Queering Adaptation in Global Cinema". Mat has been supervised by Mary Wiles. His examiners were Prof Daniel Humphrey (Texas A&M) and Prof Matthew Bolton (Gonzaga University, Spokane WA), the latter of whom characterized the thesis as "an insightful and compelling project that contributes to both the fields of adaptation studies and q***r media studies."

This is a massive achievement - ngā mihi nui ki a koe, Mat! We hope someone is buying you treats today.

Attention writers - applications are currently open for the 2024 MacMillan Brown Prize for Writers and will close at 11.59pm on the 30 of September. This prestigious prize recognises excellence in English composition by current and recent undergraduate students of the University of Canterbury.

Three prizes are available: a first prize with a value of $2,500, a second prize with a value of $1000 and a third prize of $500. To be eligible for these prizes you will need to submit an essay, a short story, a poem or group of poems, a short play, or other work in an appropriate form, dealing imaginatively with any theme. The total length of the submission must not exceed 2,500 words.

For further information and to apply, please refer to the Scholarships website and search for ‘MacMillan Brown Prize for Writers’. (Please note: In order to ‘Apply’, you will need to log into the Scholarships portal via your myUC account.)

Attention writers and film lovers - applications are currently open for the 2024 Ada Wells Memorial Prize, and will close at 11.59pm on 30 September. This prize of $1000 is awarded annually and is open to all UC undergraduates, and all graduates of not more than three years' standing from their first degree. The prize is awarded for an essay, which must not exceed 3,000 words.

This year’s topic is: “The ability to see ourselves in the lives of others is arguably what defines the value of film to society. Debate this proposition in relation to two films. The films you choose to discuss may be popular contemporary films, such as Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer or Greta Gerwig's Barbie, European films such as François Truffaut's 400 Blows or Agnès Varda's Cléo from 5 to 7, anime classics such as Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, or New Zealand films such as Waru directed by eight Māori women or Taika Waititi’s Boy. You may have your own favourite films that speak to the topic, and we welcome your original ideas!”

For further information and to apply, please refer to the Scholarships website and search for ‘Ada Wells Memorial Prize’. (Please note: In order to ‘Apply’, you will need to log into the Scholarships portal via your myUC account.)

Applications for the 2024 Tohu Kahurangi | Blues awards are NOW OPEN! 🏆 Blues are the highest honour UC and the UCSA can offer students who have excelled in the areas of sport, community engagement and arts & culture (which includes everything from music, dance and theatre through to debating, game design, filmmaking and different types of graphic and fine arts). We particularly want to encourage to people to nominate high achievers (others, or themselves) in the community and arts categories. These tend to be collaborative fields in which people might be a bit reluctant to step forward, but we'd love to see your achievements recognised.

If you click through you'll see links to the awards criteria, which lay out the sorts of regional, national and international levels people should be performing at to be eligible for consideration for an award. All winners will also be eligible for the following awards:

Sportsperson of the Year
Outstanding contribution to University Sport
Team of the Year
Coach of the Year
Official of the Year
Outstanding achievement in the Arts
Outstanding contribution to University Arts
Outstanding achievement in Community Engagement
Waewae Kai Pakiaka: Outstanding contribution to the Māori community
Outstanding contribution to Equity and Diversity
Outstanding contribution to Sustainability

Nomations close Thursday 29th August at 10am

Tohu Kahurangi | Blues Awards The awards evening will be held on Saturday 5th October, there will be nibbles and bubbles on arrival, followed by dinner with the presentation of the awards. After dessert we will have a special guest speaker and then present the Major Blues Awards! This black-tie event will be one not to miss!

Check out this kōrero with current UC / Creative New Zealand Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence Pip Adam, as part of The Spinoff's great ongoing series about work in the arts.

Pip Adam on the greatest gift: knowing what to do 'The longer I’m alive, the more I realise that the hardest jobs, the jobs I’ve needed the most skills for and taken the most energy, tend to pay the least.'

You are warmly invited to the next Late Night Poetry hour at Little Andromeda, hosted by friend of the department / past creative writing tutor Claudia Jardine, where UC's Philip Armstrong will appear as one of the month's featured poets alongside Te Whanganui-a-Tara based poet Ella Borrie. If you haven't been to one of these before, they start with an open mic, end with readings from the featured guests, and definitely go on for more than an hour. They are also A+ fun. Come join Friday 2 August at 9pm - entry by koha.

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Enormous congratulations to UC creative writing student Ella Paterson, who has been awarded first prize in the New Zealand Poetry Society’s 2024 International Poetry Competition, Open Section, for her poem ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’. Ella's poem was selected out of more than 600 subitted poems from around the world. Judge Janet Newman praised the poem's momentum ("passionate and pacy") and use of ekphrasis (using a work of visual art, here Picasso's cubist painting, as a literary device). Ella's work will be published the in the organisation's next anthology in November. Māharo - ngā mihi nui Ella!

OPEN results – NZPS International Poetry Competition 2024 | NZ Poetry Society OPEN results – NZPS International Poetry Competition 2024   OPEN JUDGE’S REPORT – JANET NEWMAN This is the second year I’ve had the pleasure of reading the entries in the adult Open section–last year as anthology co-editor and this year as judge. One of the most notable aspects is the con...

Nau mai - today we welcome Pip Adam as our Creative New Zealand / University of Canterbury Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence for the second half of 2024. Pip is one of the country's most celebrated writers of fiction. Her most recent work is the moving, genre-bending novel Audition, a story about giants in a spaceship that combines science fiction with social realism, and which was nominated for NZ's top literary prize, the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. She also makes the excellent podcast Better Off Read, where she talks with authors about writing and reading. We are so happy to be able to host Pip for the next six months and to support her in her mahi. Please say kia ora if you see her.

https://www.pipadam.com/

The programme for the Readers and Writers Akaroa festival is now live! Click through for more information on the event, which runs Sat 2 and Sun 3 November. There is also information about the festival's flash fiction prize, which closes 1 October.

Home | rawafestival "Following the success of the inaugural Readers and Writers Akaroa festival in 2023, this year's line up of authors, presenters and subjects is even more varied and impressive."

If you are heading into the city to see Matariki light show Tīrama Mai, make sure you check out fine arts lecturer Conor Clarke's tītī (Hutton's shearwater)-inspired works, which were developed in collaboration with Aotahi-based lecturer Kirsty Dunn (who many of you will know from ENGL110 Māori Storytelling and the upcoming paper TITO201 Indigilit - Indigenous Literature in Aotearoa and Beyond).

Matariki festival illuminates Christchurch to celebrate the stars The endangered Kaikoura tītī, a bird that uses the stars to navigate, is explored in one of over 20 art installations.

You are warmly invited to 'Not your typical Poetry Workshop' at the Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities!

What’s your type of poetry? Local poet and author Rebecca Nash invites you to explore new and old favourite forms of poetry in this workshop for young writers. Drawing on inspiration from the ancient Greek and Roman objects from the Logie Collection, attendees will be guided to respond and experiment in a variety of poetic styles.

Rebecca Nash is a poet who lives in Lyttelton. She has an MA in Creative Writing from IIML and an MA in Samuel Beckett from the University of Canterbury. Her book for children, Wilbur’s Walk, was published in 2021. She is a mother to two dogs, two cats and a nine year old girl-human.

The workshop taskes place at UC's Teece Museum at The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora, 3 Hereford St, on Tues 9 July, 2pm-3.30pm, Cost $5 per person, caregivers free. Recommend for ages 12 years and over.

Registration is essential:

Not Your Typical Poetry Workshop | Humanitix Get tickets on Humanitix - Not Your Typical Poetry Workshop hosted by UC Teece Museum. UC Teece Museum, 3 Hereford Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8013, New Zealand. Tuesday 9th July 2024. Find event information.

The excellent contemporary art organisation The Physics Room is currently looking for a new writing and publications coordinator. This is a very good part-time development opportunity for someone who is interested in writing, editing, publishing, community building, and creative approaches to critical arts discourse. The Physics Room does some of the most interesting and engaging work in this area nationally, so this is a great chance to develop skills in these fields while also making a contribution to our national arts ecology. Applications close 19 July. Click through for more info.

"The writing and publications coordinator oversees the research, development and delivery of all publications and critical texts at The Physics Room. The coordinator also looks after our library, publications archive, and public programmes related to writing and publishing. The role ensures that the publishing programme reflects the gallery's core values: supporting creative development, the strengthening of writing and editing practice, and building lasting relationships to place and community.

This is a development position: applicants with one to three years of experience in the sector are encouraged to apply. Mentoring and support in the areas of editing and arts publishing are offered as part of the role. We are looking for candidates with energy and a vision, and are committed to supporting the growth of your skills over this two-year contract."

Opportunities | The Physics Room The Physics Room is a contemporary art space based in Christchurch, New Zealand.

A big day! Congratulations to Sian Doole who didn't just make it through her PhD viva today - the examiner called her work 'magnificient'. Or was that 'majestic'? Both actually. No big deal... We're really proud of the work Sian has done in mapping out new ways of thinking about maternal poetics, and we're excited for you all to read the eventual book.

Sian was supervised by Nicholas Wright and Erin Harrington. Anna Jackson (VUW) acted as the oral examiner, and Jane Hedley (Bryn Mawr) was the external examiner.

Poem with No Children In It Instead, the poem is full of competent trees,

Friday 22 June, the shortest day of the year, is National Flash Fiction Day! This is a celebration of the shortest of short stories, microfiction, and other tasty literary morsels. See the event's webpage, nationalflash.org, for more information on competitions and events, as well as links to previous years' winners and activities (and maybe write some of your own?).

The exam period has kicked off, and so has free exam breakfast season. Head along to the Foundry between 8am and 9am weekdays for some kai - a bacon and egg muffin or a hashbrown and mushroom muffin - so that you can feed your puku and brain as you get your work done.

https://ucsa.org.nz/ents/event/1462/

Study week stressbusters are happening around campus! Today you can hang out with dogs, and later in the week there are coffee and fruit giveaways. Click through for more info

Stress Less Week Stress Less Study Week kicks off From Tuesday 4th June, with a FREE fruit giveaway from your Student Exec! They'll be roaming campus from 12pm 🍊🍌 Plus check out The Foundry Bar's Friday brekkie special (details on their socials)

📖🦇 Great news - the new micropress ngā pukapuka pekapeka is now open for submissions. They will be publishing three chapbooks a year, with a deliberate focus on the relationship between the written word and performance. They are interested in chapbook-length submissions of short stories, poetry collections, and novellas. They would particularly like to hear from writers from Te Waipounamu, as well as tangata whenua and emerging writers. Part of publication will involve readings and live events in Ōtautahi and Te Waipounamu. Click through the images for more information. Submissions are due 31 May. You can contact them with submissions, queries or requests at [email protected] 📖🦇

**Enormous congratulations** to Chevy Rendell, who today passed his snake fight / PhD oral exam.

Chevy's thesis is titled “The Single-Serve Self: The Individual, the Novel, and Méconnaissance at the Cusp of the Neoliberal Sublime.” He looks at a range of novels, but focuses on Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places, Iain Banks’ The Bridge, Tom McCarthy’s Remainder, and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go - as well as Amazon and Jeff Bezos.

Congratulations too to Chevy's supervisors, Daniel Bedggood and Nicholas Wright, and thanks to Assoc Professor Jenny Lawn (Massey) for acting as the oral examiner. Prof Mitchum Huehls (UCLA) acted as the external examier.

This is a huge achievement - we are very proud of you Dr Rendell! 🐍📖👨‍🎓

FAQ: The “Snake Fight” Portion of Your Thesis Defense Q: Do I have to kill the snake? A: University guidelines state that you have to “defeat” the snake. There are many ways to accomplish this. Lots o...

It's always great seeing past students doing impressive things! Grae studied with English and Cinema Studies some time ago, and we're really excited to see this project in the works. Click through for more information.

Film hoping to shine light on coming out as a transgender person needs to raise funds Trans-focused media has increased in recent years, with shows such as Rūrangi and Inky Pinky Ponky providing a uniquely Kiwi lens on the transgender experience.

Did you know UC is an Edible Campus? Check out a guided lunch-hour walk this Thursday 2 May to find the best spots to forage for edible fruits, native nibbles, herbs, nuts and berries! 🍋🍐🍎🍊

The walk is a part of Organic Week Aotearoa. It will begin outside Cafe 1894 at 12pm and will end at Waiutuutu Community Garden just before 1pm. If you can, please stay for a cup of herbal tea in the garden afterwards. Your guide Seamus Moran is UC's Biodiversity Co-ordinator and has years of experience working on and with the UC Grounds team (meaning he knows all the best spots!).

You can also click through to learn about top spots to scope out some fruit and nuts.

Our edible campus | University of Canterbury Use UC's edible campus food foraging map to find apricots, guavas, feijoas, figs, olives, pears, plums, and more on campus. Learn more about our edible campus.

Thanks to all those (two-legged and six-legged) guests who attended the launch of Lily Duval's magnificent book Six-Legged Ghosts: The Insects of Aotearoa. It was an amazing session with a great turnout. The book is available now at UBS (bonus insect not included).

You're invited to the first in a series of collaborative ‘Thought Experiments’ between Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury+ Aotahi School of Māori and Indigenous Studies, to be held at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.

Thought Experiment #1 is titled Tītī, Te Pō, + Tūhono, and features Kirsty Dunn and Conor Clarke .

Come along to Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū (Phillip Carter Family Auditorium), 12:30 – 1:30pm Thursday 2 May, 2024 - we'd love to see you there.

Study at Aotahi, UC UCArts

We're really looking forward to hosting Pip Adam later in the year as our second Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence for 2024. If you want to know more about her wildl y entertaining and genre-defying work, click through to this great profile from this week's news.

‘My only job is to keep the faith’: Ockham finalist on writing Getting stuck in a cupboard while searching for a wok was a pivotal moment for Pip Adam.

A huge congratuations to all those arts students who are graduating today!

River of robes washes through city centre for largest graduation yet Over 1300 graduates marched through the city on Wednesday as part of a tradition which started in 1988.

Attention young playwrights! The Playwrights b4 25 competition closes 1 April. See below for details.

Competitions Competition, retreat and residency opportunities.

You are warmly invited to an evening with by celebrated poet / UC creative writing tutor / arts lady about town Claudia Jardine! The event is at Tūranga, the central city library, on Thurs 28 March at 6pm. Each monthly session offers a memorable literary-inspired event ranging from author talks to zines and everything in between. Those who know Claudia know her writing is sharp, funny, sexy and clever. Come along, bring a friend, and don't forget to check out Claudia's Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2024 long-listed collection of poetry BITER.

Head along to Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū this weekend to hear from Nicholas Wright (UC English), Erin Kimber (UC Macmillan Brown Library / Archives) and Gwyn Porter (multi-hyphenate, editor, librarian, writer, and tutor / friend of the department) as they discuss the work of Ōtautahi poet Ursula Bethell, whose work inspired the title of the gallery's current contemporary art show Spring Time is Heart-break. The panel is at 1pm on Saturday 23 March in the Philip Carter Family Auditorium. Free! We hope to see you there.

Vibrant with Words: Ursula Bethell Panel Discussion Speakers include Gwynneth Porter, Nicholas Wright and Erin Kimber.

You are warmly invited to the launch of the new book 'Six-legged Ghosts: The Insects of Aotearoa", by Lily Duval. Philip Armstrong (English professor and one of the founding members of the New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies) will be there was one of the launch speakers, alongside NZ's 'bug man' Ruud Kleinpaste. The launch is taking place at 5.30pm, Thursday 11 April 2024, at UBS.

The book, which includes more than 100 original paintings by the author, examines the art, language, stories and science of insects in Aotearoa and around the world. Moving between te ao Māori and the medieval art world, between museum displays and stories of the insect apocalypse, extinction and conservation, Duval explores the lives of insects not only in the natural environments of Aotearoa, but in our cultures and histories as well. It's a gorgeous volume.

Everyone is welcome - but please RSVP for catering purposes to [email protected]

UBS - University Bookshop Canterbury

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/what-we-do/canterbury-university-press/canterbury-university-press-catalogue/six-legged-ghosts

Huge congratulations to Sian Doole, who submitted her PhD last week. Many of our students will know Sian as a tutor and guest lecturer. This is a significant achievement and we are so proud. Sian's project theorises maternal form in contemporary poetry. See below to read the wonderfully sticky prose poem "The Carrion Flower", by Claire Wahmanholm, which Sian considers near the end of her thesis.

https://www.wintertangerine.com/wahmanholm-carrion-flower