Real men write poetry at Waihi Library

Art Johnstone at a cafe in Winchester, United Kingdom.

When Art Johnstone first moved to New Zealand in 2007 he noticed that Kiwi men were a little closed off emotionally.

''So you would get very short answers to questions and it struck me that they are not particularly forthcoming,'' the Waikino poet says.

Writing poetry or just getting thoughts down on paper can be healing, he says, creating self-realisation, memories and insights for your children. And this could all be beneficial for men, he says.

Art has written a poetry book, Albatross and Moonbeams, which he will be talking about at Real Men Write Poetry — a public chat about poetry at Waihi Library in September.

Albatross and Moonbeams came about after Art watched albatross in the moonlight at 4am on board the HMB Endeavour.

''They would disappear and come back and I likened that to people in our life.''

This brought on a revelation of missed opportunities.

He decided from that moment onward he would say what he needed to say to loved ones.

''Rather than 'should I say it, should I not' ... I will say it. And it could be anything — a compliment or if I think something's fantastic I will tell them.''

Too many times people passed away without him saying thank you, or that they made a real impact on his life.

''I don't want to feel regret and remorse that I haven't said these things to people.

''I just try and get blokes to talk about this stuff, it's important because when you're gone, you're gone.''

Art relates poetry to getting emotions down on paper and it can be very self healing, he says.

''Poetry is about the heart and wearing your heart on your sleeve, and getting thoughts down on paper. Even if it's just an idea, I allow my brain to reflect and reminisce and before you know you have half a book of poetry. It's like self therapy and it helps you to understand yourself.''

Art was brought up poor in southern England. His dad was away in the army most of the time. It's something he's written about.

''I didn't have a bad relationship with him but he was a 'man's man', a good-looking womaniser. I've written a poem about him called The Charming Man.''

Art has been a head of department/dean/teacher for 34 years including Waihi College for nine years.

Albatross and Moonbeams is the culmination of ideas ''swirling around'' for about 50 years, he says. His biggest motivation for writing the book was ''getting stories down for my children to read to give them a better insight into my emotional side''.

Art would like to encourage men and anyone interested in poetry to come along to Real Men Write Poetry for an insightful chat about life and poetry.

THE DEETS
What: Real Men Write Poetry
Where: Waihi Library
When: September 11, 10.30am