Ashleigh Young

Ashleigh Young is a writer and editor living in Wellington. Her work has appeared in Booknotes, Turbine, Sport, and Landfall. She is currently writing a series of personal essays and a small collection of poems. Ashleigh was the winner of the 2009 Landfall Essay Competition and the recipient of the 2009 Adam Foundation Award in Creative Writing.

Young comments: 'I wrote this poem when I was living on my own and listening to a lot of The Smiths – never a very healthy combination. Maybe Morrissey got into my bones and I got a bit miserable. I had the sense that I was shrinking and the world outside was growing and becoming more animated – especially the trees, these prickly, wonky, very anti-picture-book trees. The more time I spent alone in my little flat, the more persective I lost, and those trees began to seem quite powerful. I suppose it was a bit like when you're a kid and convinced that aliens are hiding under your bed or behind the curtains. It makes no sense now, but it made perfect sense at the time. The line "Why you on your own tonight?" is from a Smiths song.'

Poem: Certain Trees

Links

New Zealand Electronic Text Centre: Sport archive online to issue 36
Turbine 05, 06, 07, 08, 09
Media release for 2009 Adam Award