Bill Manhire
New Zealand poet, short story writer and professor / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Bill Manhire?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
William Manhire CNZM (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at Victoria University of Wellington in 1975, founded the International Institute of Modern Letters in 2001, and has been a strong promoter of New Zealand literature and poetry throughout his career. Many of New Zealand's leading writers graduated from his courses at Victoria.[1] He has received many notable awards including a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in 2007 and an Arts Foundation Icon Award in 2018.
Bill Manhire | |
---|---|
Born | (1946-12-27) 27 December 1946 (age 77) Invercargill, New Zealand |
Occupation | Poet, short story writer, emeritus professor |
Nationality | New Zealander |
Alma mater | |
Spouse | Marion McLeod |
Children | 2 |
The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature (2006) states that he is "recognised as among the two or three finest New Zealand poets of his generation",[2] and literary critic Peter Simpson has observed that Manhire has "probably done more to widen the audience for poetry in New Zealand than any other individual".[3]