100 days of Janet Frame poems

One hundred poems by Janet Frame will be broadcast over 100 days by Access Radio Wairarapa, Arrow 92.7fm, starting on the author’s birthdate, 28 August.

“100 Days of Janet Frame” celebrates the centenary of Frame’s birth on 28 August 1924, with the  100 poems selected from The Pocket Mirror (1967) and The Goose Bath (2006). The 100-day event is registered with 2024 Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day. 

“Access Radio Wairarapa is delighted to be part of this substantial and worthwhile literary feat which showcases many excellent Wairarapa poetry performers, as well as a few national dignitaries and experts,” said Arrow FM Station Manager Michael Wilson. 

The 59 readers include many Wairarapa locals. Poets include Kate Camp, Rhondda Greig, Bill Manhire, Mary McCallum, Madeleine Slavick and Poet Laureate Chris Tse. There is a reading in te reo Māori by Te Whakapono Waikere, and a 2002 recording by Janet Frame herself.

“To have secured Poet Laureate Chris Tse and the indomitable Bill Manhire is a coup. We are also pleased that Peter Simpson joins with his reading of ‘A Painting by Colin McCahon,’” Wilson said.

Manager of Wairarapa Library Service, Louise Dowdell, who reads two poems for the event, noted that “Janet Frame is a giant in the literary landscape of Aotearoa, and the … Library Service is thrilled to be part of this event showcasing her poetry and celebrating the centenary of her birth.”

Writer, Wairarapa Word Co-ordinator, and Assistant Librarian Madeleine Slavick, who initiated, co-ordinated and joined 100 Days of Janet Frame, thanked all the participants, adding: “I would also like to acknowledge Janet Frame. Is there another writer quite like her? I don’t think so!” 

Listen every day from August 28: 12 noon to Arrow FM 92.7fm  www.arrowfm.co.nz