WORK

Published 22 October 2015, Hue & Cry Press

In these six long poems Sarah Jane Barnett explores how people fight for a normal life. Set in Ethiopia, Paris, Norway, and New Zealand these astonishing poems take you into the lives of others – a grieving man leaves Ethiopia at the end of the civil war; a polyamorous couple have a child; a woman hunts a black bear on a New Zealand sheep station. Original and spellbinding, these poems walk the line between poetry and fiction. Read an interview with Sarah about WORK:  “A Slut for Beauty."

Responses to WORK

“In ‘Addis Ababa,’ an Ethiopian immigrant rehearses the losses that have brought him to New Zealand, and explores the business of getting by, fitting in, settling in to work. His work is translation, and as a linguist, he is acutely aware of verbal and cultural gains and losses. His language has a careful, scholarly formality; and there are brief lapses into his mother-tongue when he is stuck for a word or grappling with something untranslatable. Mostly these words are not glossed, so we are left to briefly feel his frustration. For this touching, eloquent sequence alone, the book is worth seeking out.” – Janet Hughes, New Zealand Books: A quarterly review

“Wonderful writing, it’s challenging, it’s unforgettable.” – Mary McCallum, Radio New Zealand

“Daring technically … The scientific images, rather than distancing a reader from this startlingly tender poem, are a paradoxical part of its intimacy … Its publication by Hue and Cry Press should add to the growing presence of this publisher and its reputation as a promoter of powerful and original work.” – John Horrocks, Landfall Review Online

“WORK is richly imagined and elegantly written … [the poems’] careful imaginings of the particulars of six different human situations offer a variety of perspectives on the work required to live well – with ourselves and with others. Barnett’s voice is compassionate and intelligent.” – Sue Wootton, Takahe Magazine

“The silver linings that these characters find despite their struggles, all presented through Barnett’s beautiful language, makes WORK a moving portrayal of humanity.” – Emma Shi, Booksellers

A Man Runs into a Woman

Finalist for Best Poetry Book
2013 New Zealand Post Book Awards

Published 10 August 2012, Hue & Cry Press

A Man Runs into a Woman looks at the different ways to tell a person’s story: two middle-aged men strike up an unlikely friendship, one couple reconnects after the war, while another couple leave the worst unsaid, and a cross-dressing man talks with his daughter. A series of nine distinctive poems explore the gap between the heartfelt last words of Texas death row inmates, and the grim police reports of their crimes. The collection was launched on 10 August 2012 by Hue & Cry Press. Listen to An interview about A Man Runs into a Woman on Arts on Sunday with Lynn Freeman.

Responses to A Man Runs into a Woman

“Vivid and real and so brave.” – John Campbell, Chief Judge of New Zealand Post Book Awards 2013

“Barnett deliberately treads an uneasy line between voyeurism and empathy in these remarkable poems.” – Tim Upperton, Landfall Review Online

“Barnett’s debut collection is well worth heralding … the poet has adeptly made this material her own and inhabits the specifics in order to invoke our deeper consternation and bewilderment about the sources of human cruelty.” – New Zealand Books

“This is an honest, zealous and dark little book. A Man Runs Into A Woman is stunning, stormy, snappy and accessible without hiding anything from the imagination.” – Otago Daily Times

“As a cartographer of human experience, Sarah Jane Barnett steps boldly into the shoes and lives of others: a cable television engineer, a geographer, a pipeline worker. Her alert mind and canny eye for detail translate and transform what we may have missed in the world into poetic vignettes that are both light-footed and fresh.” – Poet, Paula Green