Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu and WORD Christchurch are pleased to present two of the most talked-about writers in the country: Hera Lindsay Bird and Ashleigh Young.

Celebrating World Poetry Day, come and hear Bird, who Steve Braunias called ‘like the most exciting newish poet in New Zealand’ in The Spinoff, and Young, who Grant Smithies, writing in the Sunday Star-Times, declared should be ‘carried through the streets of Wellington in a sedan chair, borne aloft by adoring disciples’. Both writers will read from their work and discuss poetry, essay-writing, editing, and life.

Hera Lindsay Bird’s poetry has gone viral around the world, and she has been featured in publications such as The Spinoff,  Vice, the Guardian and i-D magazine. Her debut poetry collection Hera Lindsay Bird has been a bestseller and is long-listed in the 2017 Ockham Book Awards.

Ashleigh Young works as an editor in Wellington and teaches creative science writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her poetry and essays have been widely published in print and online journals. She is the author of the poetry collection Magnificent Moon and the essay collection Can You Tolerate This?, which is long-listed for the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. She blogs at eyelashroaming.com.