Dear Neil Roberts

Overview

It is November 18, 1982, and Neil Ian Roberts is 22 years old. He walks up to the Police Computer Centre in Whanganui, at 12:35am. Shortly after, there was an explosion. Neil committed suicide attempting to destroy that computer center, but who was Neil Roberts? This book is the search for the story of a quiet young man, an anarchist, a figure who moves differently, or vanishes altogether, in different versions of history. As much a work of documentary as poetry, this extraordinary collection considers the uncomfortable event of Neil Roberts's death, its significance in the context of 1980s New Zealand, and how this action has reverberated through others' lives, including the poet's own.

Author Biography

Airini Beautrais is a poet and the author of Secret Heart, named Best First Book of Poetry in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards 2007, and Western Line.