Edgeland and Other Poems

Discover 'Edgeland and Other Poems,' a captivating collection by acclaimed New Zealand poet David Eggleton. This paperback work, published by Otago University Press, measures 150 x 230 mm and comprises 112 pages of vibrant and thought-provoking poetry. Eggleton's unique oratory voice resonates throughout this collection, blending lyrical beauty with contemporary slang. The poems celebrate local vernacular while engaging with global themes, offering a fresh perspective on the modern world. With sharp satire, Eggleton explores the chaos of social change, media overload, and human folly, inviting readers on a wild journey through the absurdities of life. Characters leap off the pages, including whimsical figures like the man who mistook the moon for a candy bar, bringing humor and vivid imagery to life. This collection features an enchanting mix of poignant odes, outrageous metaphors, and playful wordplay that embodies the essence of New Zealand poetry. Experience the artistic brilliance of 'Edgeland' and delve into a multi-dimensional exploration of culture and imagination.

Author: David Eggleton Publisher: Otago University Press
Bind: paperback
Dimensions: 150 x 230 mm
Pages: 112


The poetry in David Eggleton’s new collection possesses an intensity and driven energy, using the poet’s recognisable signature oratory voice, strong in beat and measure, rooted in rich traditions of chant, lament and ode. Mashing together the lyrical and the slangy, celebrating local vernaculars while simultaneously plugged in to a global zeitgeist of technobabble and fake news, Eggleton recycles and ‘repurposes’ high visual culture and demotic aural culture. Edgeland offers a tragicomic and surreal skewering of the cons, swindles, posturings and flaws of damaged people on the make, dislocating the reader with high speed jinks and swerves. A satirical eye interrogates ‘data’, media bilge, opinion, social change, extreme experience, and worst-case-scenario extrapolations. A menagerie of vivid characters burst off the page - including the man who mistook the moon for a candy bar, instigators, prestidigitators, procurators, promulgators, Zorro and Governor Grey - alongside a survey of 35 types of beard, an ode to ooze, metadada, Gordon Ramsay’s pan-sizzled bull’s pizzle, a Baxterian moa, and various other waka jumpers hailing from Jafaville to Jack’s Blowhole. Edgeland is a dazzling display of polychromatic virtuosity, teeming with irrepressible wordplay, startling imagery and anarchic wit, from one of New Zealand’s best-loved poets