Collection: Brian Turner

Author photo: Declan Wong

Brian Turner was born in Dunedin in 1944 and lived most of his life in Central Otago. His first book of poems, Ladders of Rain (1978), won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and was followed by a number of highly praised poetry collections and award-winning writing in a wide range of genres including journalism, biography, memoir and sports writing. Later poetry collections included Night Fishing (2016), Inside Outside (2011), Just This (winner NZ Post New Zealand Book Award for Poetry 2010) and Taking Off (2001). His Selected Poems were published in 2019. He was the Te Mata Estate New Zealand Poet Laureate 2003–05 and received the Prime Minister’s Award for Poetry in 2009. Brian died in February 2025.