New Days for Old

New Days for Old is a delightful experiment in form by New Zealand poet James Brown.

Each scene in this book is like a 1-minute pop song: its depths are at first easy to miss. But as the story proceeds, the grand scheme of things hoves into view: we are born, we crawl and then are carried away, and everything is a-shimmer, even the disappointments. 

New Days for Old is a life story in small scenes. Funny, moving, erotic, political and undeniably odd, it turns our most familiar-feeling days into something altogether new. 

‘How does James Brown do it? Every page in this book is my favourite.’ —Bill Manhire 

‘James Brown is I think the funniest poet in this country. He’s beautifully in control of tone and emotional power, so the poems sometimes just sneak up on you, and you think – why am I now feeling like crying? Wasn’t this comedy?’ —Damien Wilkins, RNZ

James Brown is the author of nine poetry collections with Te Herenga Waka University Press, including Slim Volume (2024), The Tip Shop (2022) and Selected Poems (2020). James works as an editor and teaches the Poetry Workshop at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.