Gregory O’Brien
GREGORY O’BRIEN’s most recent books are News of the Swimmer Reaches Shore (Victoria University Press / Carcanet UK, 2007) and A Nest of Singing Birds, 100 Years of the School Journal (Learning Media, 2007). He has also contributed a poem sequence to the forthcoming book on Denis O’Connor’s art, What the Roof Dreamt (read excerpts from the poem). A poem not unrelated to ‘A Small Ode to Faith’ appeared in the on-line journal Jacket. 2006 was the year of small fishes.
O’Brien comments: ‘I was standing on a jetty at the northern end of Tauranga Harbour — January 2006 — dragged reluctantly by my young sons into the bloody business of fishing. Some fishers on the other side of the wharf were pulling in big ones, which they disembowelled showily on the platform just along from us. We were more than content with our tiny sprats and spotties. Small fry. Their skinny, shining bodies resembled ballpoint pens. So I picked one up and started writing…’
