The spirit is alive In such replicas, he\u2019s reborn, Then, he finds his Arles in Akaroa, Soon, forgetting sunflowers, Finally, like Rangi and Papa, (c) Siobhan Harvey<\/p>\n Reproduced here with the permission of the poet.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Van Gogh in Aotearoa<\/em> was first published in Landfall<\/span> 215, (Otago University Press) 2008, and reproduced in Crest to Crest: Impressions of Canterbury Prose & Poetry<\/span>, ed. Karen Zelas (Wily Publications) 2009.<\/p>\n In terms of why I have chosen it as my Tuesday Poem—quite simply, I have loved Van Gogh in Aotearoa <\/em>ever since Siobhan Harvey read it for a Women on Air: Plains 96.9 FM <\/strong>interview: I think<\/em> because of how strongly it evokes a spirit of place, juxtaposing the reality of New Zealand culture and landscape against the enduring wonder of Van Gogh’s art in a sleight-of-word of poetic magic-realism.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Siobhan Harvey is the editor of Our Own Kind: 100 New Zealand Poems about Animals<\/em> (Godwit, 2009) and Words Chosen Carefully: New Zealand Writers in Discussion<\/em> (Cape Catley, 2010). She\u2019s Poetry Editor of Takahe<\/span> magazine and Consulting Editor of International Literary Quarterly<\/span>. Her first New Zealand poetry collection, Lost Relatives<\/em> will be launched in Christchurch next March as part of 2011 Book Month.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n
\nin Starry Night<\/em> reproductions
\nwhich hang, like crucifixes,
\nin varsity bed-sits,
\npetit bourgeois<\/em> do-ups
\nand nouveau riche<\/em> villas
\nacross Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
\npicks up his paintbrushes
\nand begins to set the All Blacks:
\nMcCaw, Howlett, So\u2019oialo,
\nupon the terra firma of his canvas
\nas if they\u2019re men at work, harvesting.<\/p>\n
\nwhere Port Louis-Philippe\u2019s spectre
\nbesets him with visions,
\nsmall prophecies, of fresh work:
\nLandscape under a Summer Sky,
\nThe Rue Jolie Bridge at Akaroa,
\nThree White Cottages in Rue Balguerie.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nhe forms a fresh muse
\nfrom the soleil<\/em>-radiance
\nof kaka-beak and kowhai.<\/p>\n
\nhe brings land and sky together
\nin a blue-black darkness
\nabove the Desert Road
\nwhere stars are birthed so crisply
\nthey stand in place of him
\nand speak of things long dead.<\/p>\nAbout the Poem:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
About the Poet: <\/strong><\/h4>\n