The Lifeguard

Overview

Ian Wedde’s latest collection of poems are a complex mix of rhapsody, fear, and humor, and the prose explore the contradictions between life’s pool-side surfaces and frightening undertows. Opening with a major new series of poems “The Lifeguard,” it concludes with another long sequence, “Shadow Stands Up,” in which a world of Platonic memory and tidal recurrence is observed from a window-seat in Auckland’s conspicuously green-branded Link bus. Bringing together work from the past five years by one of New Zealand’s most outstanding contemporary poets, this collection shows a master of the are at his thoughtful and surprising best.

Reviews

Critical comment on some of Ian Wedde's previous poetry collections: Good Business (2009)"The casual tone and rhythms of informal speech present an attention that flickers over the specifically local. Perhaps this migrated into New Zealand poetry (and that of the U.K.) from the U.S.A. during the 1960s, refreshing modes of writing which had become rigid and academic. These days, of course, it’s a style that has taken over the international mainstream, filling magazines with flaccid anecdote. But Ian Wedde knows how to keep it vital." —Peter Hughes, Jacket

"Ian Wedde’s pedigree is impressive and his class is stamped all over this collection. There are some lines, some phrases, some verses that shine like polished diamonds." —Matt Bowler, Nelson Mail

"No matter where he turns his gaze, it is intelligent, insightful and infinitely readable. His gift for language is truly a gift for the reader and propels the brightest moments in this collection." —Matt Bowler, Nelson Mail

"In all his considerable oeuvre, Wedde is never less than lyrically seductive, always acutely observational in the manner of an Antipodean William Carlos Williams . . ." – Michael Morrissey, Investigate

Critical comment on some of Ian Wedde's previous poetry collections: Three Regrets and a Hymn to Beauty (2009)"If I had to pick one poetry book for a desert-island sojourn, I would either take Wedde’s The Commonplace Odes or Three Regrets and a Hymn to Beauty. Both collections offer extraordinary craft, coupled with keen insight and a terrific wit." —Paula Green, NZ Herald (review of Good Business, Feb 2010)

"The upshot of all this is a reminder that beauty lives alongside its opposite number but all in all, simple magnificence exists. A dexterous way with words that dazzle and surprise, Wedde takes us on a world tour that includes a bumpy ride through the sites and sounds of New Zealand, exuberant to the end where even the presence of Samuel Beckett doesn't dampen his ardour." —Peter Dornauf, Waikato Times

"His latest collection is a rendition of light and shade – juxtapositions that sit well in the hands of this surefooted talent." —Patricia Soper, Southland Times

". . . Wedde remains the master craftsman, and lovers of fine language will find lasting satisfaction in Three Regrets." —Sam Finnemore, Craccum

Author Biography

Ian Wedde is a distinguished writer, critic, editor, and curator. He won the National Book Award for Fiction for his first novel, Dick Seddon’s Great Dive, and the National Book Award for Poetry for Spells for Coming Out. He was made an Arts Foundation Laureate in 2006, a distinguished alumnus of the University of Auckland in 2007, Officer New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to art and literature in 2010 and, in 2011, commenced a two-year term as the New Zealand Poet Laureate.