the red room

Welcome to the red room.

I am a poet, doctoral student, tutor and crafter based in Wellington. I am also a partner to Jim and a mother to Chicken, the biggest love-sponge, ginger cat. You could say I am a pseudo-vegetarian, a middle distance runner and I believe in a good cup of tea.

Earlier this year I started a PhD in English at Massey University that combines creative writing with research. At the moment my research asks if a new ecocriticial examination is valuable to the reading of selected poems by Robert Hass, Hone Tuwhare and Christian Bok as a new nature writing. I am looking at how these poets redefine ‘nature’ to include humans and our habitats (compared to the traditional human/non-human separated definition of ‘nature’). I am sure this will change as I progress. My creative work uses the conceit of human geography to look at the same idea. Before starting my PhD I completed my MA at the Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand. My poetry has been published in New Zealand and Australia in journals such as Landfall, Sport, JAAM, Takahe and Brief on the e-zines Turbine, Cordite, Blackmail Press and Best New Zealand Poems. If you want to read some of my poetry check out the links in the sidebar.

Before starting the PhD I spent ten years working in the New Zealand public sector caring for museum collections and working in government IT management. Although I enjoyed the pace and pressure of the work, I didn’t feel like I was making a difference to the workings of my country. It is not a good sign when walking to work is the most enjoyable part of your day. I am now trying to focus on writing and being part of the New Zealand literary community, to slow my life down, to be environmentally conscious, get my hands dirty, walk places, make things out of fabric and have more fun.

If you want to get in contact please email me at sarah[at]theredroom[dot]org. Thanks for visiting.

SJB