Man of words left speechless

30/10/2009

Brian Turner (1957-61), one of New Zealand finest writers and poets was left humbled this week after being presented with a 2009 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement.

In recalling his background and career which until 1986 saw him juggling his writing around work as a customs officer, publisher’s representative, journalist, managing editor of a publishing firm, work in sawmills, construction sites and even as a rabbiter in Central Otago, Brian noted it was a ‘‘pleasant surprise’’ to be recognised.

Brian Turner (left) receives his Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement from Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Chris Finlayson at Premier House in Wellington this week.

“If you told me 45 years ago that something like this would happen to me, I would have said you were nuts”, he said.

‘‘I never thought I would win something like this, coming from where I come from. I’m humbled”.

Brian was recognised for his contribution to New Zealand poetry, along with C.K. Stead for fiction writing and Dr Ranginui Walker for non-fiction. Each writer received $60,000.

Prime Minister John Key said it was a pleasure to honour the three great writers.
‘‘As New Zealanders, we should celebrate success more. I am proud to acknowledge the legacy and continued involvement of these well-deserving recipients,’’ Mr Key said.

Brian is the fourth Otago writer to receive the award since it was established in 2003, following Janet Frame (2003, fiction), Hone Tuwhare (2003, poetry) and Philip Temple (2005, non-fiction).

In reflecting he had always written because he needed to, or wanted to, Brian said he’d always viewed “writing as work, and something that needs to be worked at if you are going to produce something worthwhile.

‘‘It’s taken me a very long time to have faith in my abilities as a writer.’’

He paid tribute to publisher John McIndoe (1912-14) who published his early poetry collections when he worked for him.

‘‘If it hadn’t been for his willingness to publish collections of my poems, I might not have continued my writing,’’ he said.

Brian, who is a former New Zealand hockey player and a keen fisherman, has been publishing poetry since the 1960s. In 1978 he won a Commonwealth prize for his first his first volume of poetry Ladders of Rain and in 1984 he was the Robert Burns Fellow at the University of Otago. In 1993 Brian’s collection Beyond won the New Zealand Book Award for poetry, 1994-95 saw him immersed with the Arts Council Scholarship in Letters and in 1997 he was the Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury. Brian was the Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate 2003-05, he published Into the Wider World: A Back Country Miscellany and earlier this year he published Just This, his latest volume of poems.