Wairarapa Poetry Fellowship
New Zealand Pacific Studio (NZPS), a non-profit multi-cultural artists’ residency centre in rural Wairarapa, invites applications for a three week residency. This opportunity is made possible with the generous sponsorship from members of the Wairarapa community.
The purpose of this Ema Saiko Poetry Fellowship is to encourage the writing of poetry and, in turn, to honour the Japanese poet and painter Ema Saiko (1787-1861) after whom our garden-facing Saiko studio is named. Writing in the early 19th century, at a time when it was unusual for women to be included in the rarefied circles of male poets writing in Chinese, Ema Saiko dedicated herself to, and developed, a poetic form centred on the discovery and unfolding of a rich intellectual and artistic life connected to her physical environment.
NZPS welcomes applications from both female and male poets of all cultures who seek a similar focus through sustained activity. Applicants can be working in any way and do not have to relate to Ema Saiko in terms of style or content. While in residence, Fellows will be invited to give readings and may help facilitate a workshop that shares a personal process of writing poetry with others. Selection will be based on the nature and strength of an applicant’s proposed project and the degree to which both the Fellow and the local community will benefit from it (although the focus remains on supporting the poet in the serious creation of their work). Applicants can be at any stage in their creative ‘careers.’
Previous Ema Saiko Fellows include: Yukari Nikawa (2015) and Janis Freegard (2014).
More details here.
