PALAPA: Kai Nolte* lifted the first survivor – a child – to safety at 2.30pm.
The rescue continued all afternoon to the rhythm of the swell. Nolte said after a while, “This is just like fishing”.

Kai Nolte lifted the first survivor – a child –
to safety at 2.30pm. So see him
one step up from the abyss, this
first stay in the human chain, angel
of the bringing-forth, its physicality,
exulting! He it is lights on the promise
the deep makes, the shoal shining,

RAIN

We live always with rain.

Soft rain. Hard, driving rain.
Rain which cools, annoys, drenches, surprises.
Unseasonable, untameable rain.

Rain that jabs down
with stiff fingers, provoking umbrellas;
rain you want to walk in,
holding your hands
to your hot face in relief.

Rain whose percussion
on the upturned palm of a leaf
is the sound of wings
flapping, ready to take off.

Rain a kind of music,
A kind of voice. Listening
to the sound it plays
lapping at the wondow,
you

BOOK REVIEWS –
Writing Your First Novel – John Reynolds
Uncommon Enemy – John Reynolds
Publisher: Polygraphia Ltd, Aotearoa/New Zealand, 2006 http://www.polygraphianz.com
Reviewed by Dr. Cathie Dunsford

It is appropriate to review these two books together because John Reynolds has used extracts and experiences from writing his first novel, Uncommon Enemy, in his accessible and useful guide Writing Your First Novel, alongside international authors and writing from a wide

BOOK REVIEW:
TITLE: NIU VOICES, CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC FICTION 1
EDITOR: SELINA TUSITALA MARSH
PUBLISHER: HUIA PRESS, AOTEAROA-NEW ZEALAND, DEC 2006
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: http://www.huia.co.nz
REVIEWED BY DR. CATHIE DUNSFORD

As Teresa Teaiwa, founding member of the Niu Waves Pacific Writers Collective [1995] says, in Niu Voices, “The word “niu” has two meanings in Pacific languages. It most commonly refers to the coconut, the ancient and enduring tree of life in most

Haikus Of Silence
Alvin Pang

earth

Today my father
no longer looks forward to
the rest of his life

One day my hands will
sprout into bone, and join the
trees in mute prayer.

One lonely vowel
seals these lips to guard my tongue
from its own rage: Home.

fire

7th month: Roads lined
with candles, their flames like tongues
of the forgotten.

Last train out, reeking
of burnt metal, sweat and dew
distilled from shadow.

Stillness too, brings heat.
Each glance from you,