Big thanks to everyone who came along to the launch on Wednesday night.  Cool venue, huh?  And I hope you enjoyed the band – the fabulous Sans Souci, bringing the streets of Paris to a wintry Wellington.  I started the evening with a ‘thank you rap’ (anyone who knows me, knows I don’t rap) which I will reproduce here for those who missed their thankyou on the night:

first I’d like to thank the AUP

for being so good as to publish me

that’s the Auckland University Press

& Anna Hodge, editress

 

I’d like to acknowledge the other two

writers whose poems are in this book

respect to Katherine and Rei-

hana who can’t be here today

 

Thanks to Greg O’Brien who taught us so well

at the poetry workshop at the IIML

Big ups to the writing groups who keep me on track

With their elegant, eloquent, fine feedback

 

like the Millionaires poets* who meet at finc

for sticks of bread and the occasional drink

(that’s Mary and Mary and Mary-Jane

and Kerry and Kerry and Jo and James)

whose advice is never to be missed

they stop me writing doggerel like this

 

then there’s the Wellington writers and the Sittenfeld set

a finer bunch of novelists I’ve never met

thanks to Adi Brown –she knows her craft

she took the back  jacket photograph

thanks to Cathy Blakely for the things to eat

the yummy cheese straws and the party treats

 

thank you to everyone here tonight

friends and colleagues and passers-by

there are books for sale and spiders for free

and accordion music from Sans Souci

 

thanks to the folk from Mighty Mighty

for their wonderful hospitality

and finally thanks to our lovely MC

international man of history

that’s Peter, aka doctor D

all right, let’s have some poetry!

* not everyone listed here is a Millionnaires Shortbread poet, but I claim poetic license

and here’s a picture of me reading it:

janis-reading

(more pictures to come – thankyou Fleur for taking them)

In case you’re wondering, those are plastic spiders sewn around my neckline.  I also colour-co-ordinated my outfit to match the vivid green of the book cover!