New Zealand poet
Michele Joy Leggott (born 1956) is a New Zealand poet, and an emeritus professor of English at the University of Auckland. She was the New Zealand Poet Laureate between 2007 and 2009.
Biography.
Leggott was born in Stratford, New Zealand, and received her secondary education at New Plymouth Girls' High School, before attending the University of Canterbury where she completed an MA in English in 1979. She then moved to Canada to do a PhD at the University of British Columbia. Her dissertation was on the American poet Louis Zukofsky and was published as "Reading Zukofsky’s 80 Flowers" (1989).
Leggott began publishing her poetry around 1980. She published "Sound Pitch Considered Forms" with two Canadian poets in 1984. In 1985 she returned to New Zealand and took up a lectureship at the University of Auckland. She produced her first book of poems, "Like This?", in 1988, winning the International PEN First Book of Poetry award.
In her collection of poetry, "As Far as I Can See" (Auckland University Press, 1999), Leggott wrote about her deep sorrow at losing her sight - she began going blind in 1985. Leggott was awarded a Blind Achievers Award by the Foundation for the Blind in 1999 for her work on "The Book of Nadath".
In 1991 she published "Swimmers, Dancers", with a domestic focus, and in 1995 she won the New Zealand Book Award for Poetry with "DIA". On 4 December 2007, she was named New Zealand Poet Laureate for 2008/2009.
Her work has appeared in the Best New Zealand Poems series in 2002 and 2005.
In the 2009 New Year Honours, Leggott was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to poetry.
Personal life.
Michele is married to Mark Fryer, and they have 2 adult sons.
References.
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