Wild Honey

Book excerpt: Highly regarded poet and anthologist Paula Green is the author of this novel and much overdue survey of New Zealand's women poets. At 568 pages, illustrated throughout by Sarah Laing and featuring the work of 195 poets (all of whom have biographies and full bibliographies), this book is a landmark volume and an incredible achievement. Its timing is perfect given the current re-examination of the role of the male gatekeepers of our literature in the 1940s and 1950s, who decided that women's poetry was weak and excluded it from the volumes of poetry that were to become the canon. How things have changed -- at present the most exciting poetry is coming from high-profile young women poets who almost have cult status -- Hera Lindsay Bird and Tayi Tibble. Charmingly and unique, the book's chapters follow the structure of a house, with different poets being discussed and assessed in each of the house's rooms. The selection is enormously generous, the tone is at times gentle and accessible, and Green's reach is wide. She brings the pioneers of women's poetry -- Jessie Mackay, Blanche Baughan and Eileen Duggan -- back from the shadows and she also draws our attention to the remarkable stories of forgotten women poets such as Lola Ridge.