oems reveal whole worlds to you about things you’ve never seen or been in contact with….That’s the value of poetry. It isn’t just for the moment and then it disperses, it’s there for ever.

Born in the Netherlands, poet Riemke Ensing has distinctively synthesised European and New Zealand influences. After arriving here in 1951, Ensing came to attention as editor of the first New Zealand anthology of women poets, Private Gardens. She has published numerous collections, often engaging with art, politics and other poets, and her selected poems were published in 2000 as Talking Pictures. Ensing has taught New Zealand literature at Auckland University and in 2002 she received the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship. (New Zealand Book Council).

Riemke is interviewed by Denys Trussell, also a poet. The two converse easily on Riemke’s journey as an immigrant, an English teacher and a poet.