Poet back home in Waikato

Poet Bob Orr. Photo/supplied

Poet Bob Orr is thrilled to be back on home turf as Waikato University writer-in-residence.

"I was raised on a farm at Hoe-o-Tainui about 20km north of Morrinsville but spent almost all my adult life in Auckland," says Orr who when he retired as a Ports of Auckland pilot boat master last year moved to the Firth of Thames.

The winner of last year's biennial Lauris Edmond Memorial Award for his contribution to poetry, Orr has been reaching into memory while in Hamilton to craft poems based on his childhood.

"It's been a wonderful year reconnecting with my past, writing and contributing to the cultural life of the university. I'm pretty sure what I'm writing now will lead to a collection.

This is the first year in my life when I've been able to devote myself to poetry instead of squeezing it in round the margins."

The first of his seven collections was published in 1971 and the most recent - Odysseus in Woolloomooloo - in 2014.

"I was on holiday in Sydney and every day I walked from Darlinghurst to the Central Quay and every day I stopped and talked to this old Greek guy," Orr says, explaining the title.

"It made me wonder if perhaps Odysseus hadn't died but instead migrated to Australia and here he was, fishing off the wharf."

After leaving school, Orr spent a year at Auckland University before dropping out and going to work on the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf.

It was in Auckland that Orr started going to live poetry readings and hearing people like James K Baxter and Hone Tuwhare. What role does poetry have in modern life? "I'm always amazed by the number of people who ask me to write a poem for a special occasion, whether that's a 21st, a wedding or a funeral.

Clearly, poetry still touches people's hearts so it's a tragedy that it's not taught as something to be enjoyed but an elaborate puzzle to be solved."

the fine print
What: Bob Orr and writer Phil Jarratt talk about the ocean in their writing
Where: Baycourt
When: Monday, October 23, 10am
Tickets: Baycourt box office or Ticketek. TECT cardholder discounts available until October 6 (Baycourt only). See the full programme at taurangafestival.co.nz