MIRIAM BARR
POET / PERFORMER
ABOUT ME
An avid collaborator, I am most excited by poetry when I am working with other poets, artists and musicians. I've added poetry to moving image, dance, poetry theatre shows, live music, and art exhibitions. All of these influences have in turn found homes in my own work, both on and off the page.
BIO NOTE
Miriam Barr is an Auckland-based poet who performs her work and has a long history of collaboration with musicians, visual artists, and other poets. Her poetry has been published in Landfall, Takahe, Brief, 4th Floor, Poetry NZ, Potroast, REM Magazine, Blackmail Press, The De-Formed Paper, Enamel, Magazine, JAAM and Wild Goose Poetry Review. Her collection Bullet Hole Riddle was published by Steele Roberts in 2014 and has been described by reviewers as "brave", "profound" and "perfectly formed". She has previously self-published two collections of her poetry, Tangents (2006) and Observations from the Poetry Factory (2007). Her work has featured in academic texts, art galleries, on the labels for a range of wines, and on stages in NZ and abroad. She has been a Poetry Live MC, editor of a monthly poetry zine called Side Stream, a Poetry Idol slam champion, winner of People's Choice at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York, creative director of theatre-poetry group The Literatti, facilitator of many workshops, guerrilla poetry instigator, and the coordinator of New Zealand's National Poetry Day.
HIGHLIGHTS
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2021: Poem included in This Twilight Menagerie: A Whakanui of 40 Years of Poetry Live!
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2019: Poem included in Wild Honey: Reading NZ Women's Poetry by Paula Green.
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2017: A selection of Book Boxes included in the Visualis exhibition at the NZ Poetry Conference.
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2016: Tackling Butoh for the poetry theatre show FLOCK, directed Genevieve McClean.
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2016: Musician Caitlin Smith transforms poetry into song lyrics for The Kerouac Effect.
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2015: Voted people's choice at the Bowery Poetry Club's open mic night in New York City.
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2014-16: Coordinator of National Poetry Day
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2014: Bullet Hole Riddle published by Steele Roberts to critical acclaim.
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2014: Collaborative work, How My Brain Betrays Me featured in Digital Textuality by Paola Trimarco (Palgrave Macmillan, UK, 2014)
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2014: NOW exhibition with photographer Faye Norman at Toi Tu: Studio One.
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2013: Collaboration with visual artist Elke Finkenauer, A Certain Uncertainty, exhibition booklet, DevelopmentAIR, 7-21 June 2013
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2012: Featured in The Kerouac Effect doco
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2012: Collaborative performance and publication with poet Doug Poole
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2011: Performed in reTHiNK Possible Worlds with live music, dancers and The Literatti
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2011: Coproduced and performed in The Big reTHiNK at Q Theatre
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2011: Collaboration with visual artist Elke Finkenauer wins the Metonymy 2011 Gordon Harris Best in Show Award
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2010-2011: Creative writing tutor for Toi Ora Live Art Trust's weekly writing group.
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2010: My work with Side Stream and The Literatti acknowledged in the book "99 Ways Into NZ Poetry" by Harry Rickets and Paula Green.
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2010: Organised the Side Stream Poetry Brothel in association with the New York Poetry Brothel, the first event of it's kind on NZ shores.
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2009: GROWL with The Literatti, US poet Nikki Patin and live cello at the Auckland Fringe Festival
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2008: Animated poetry film made with artist Kate Barton titled How My Brain Betrays Me wins award for best collaboration at Metonymy 2008.
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2008: Performed at the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival in Bali.
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2007: Poetry Idol slam champion, judged by Graham Brazier, Shane Koyczan, and Jo Randerson.
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2007-2011: Founding Editor of Side Stream, a pocket-sized, handmade poetry zine distributed free by a global network of poets
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2007-2010: Creative Director of The Literatti
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2006-2011: Coordinator and MC for Poetry Live
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2006: Cofounded The Guerrilla Poets with Renee Liang, Christian Jensen and Jason Morales
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2005-2013: Member of The Literatti