Help get Paula to a writing residency in Vermont!

Kia ora! I’m Paula. I’m a poet. I’ve been offered a writing residency at Vermont Studio Center (yes, Vermont as America, Vermont as in maple syrup - yum). The opportunity to spend October there is pretty hard to pass up – I’ll be one of 15 writers (along with 30 visual artists) and we each have our own writing studio overlooking Gihon River. October means autumn (or fall, if I’m practising my Americanisms), which means maple leaves slowly falling around me.

One of the advantages of the Vermont Studio Center residency (beyond the time and space to write, new experiences to write about and the chance to get feedback from other writers there) is that my accommodation and meals are provided. Since my depression has gotten worse – to the point where I no longer work and I’m really bad with stuff like cooking for myself – not having to worry about meals is major relief. When I say it’s one less thing to less about, trust me, the impact of that is huge for me. It’s hard to put into words what a big deal this residency is for me (yes, I know, even as a poet, it’s still hard to express).

My goal for the residency is to write new work, as well as finish a new poetry collection that I’ve currently working on. And to meet new people and talk about writing and watch those falling maple leaves.

A bit about my writing background: I recently won the Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize (a US award, judged by Ilya Kaminsky, who is super well-respected) and was the 2017 recipient of the Lilian Ida Smith Award (given out by the New Zealand Society of Authors), and the winner of the 1995 Whitireia Poetry Award. I’ve had poetry published by The Spinoff, takahē, Landfall, Snorkel and other places. It all might sound a bit posh, but really my poems are just about life and heartbreak and longing and lust and why no one’s putting out the recycling bin and depression and Idris Elba. If you’ve ever felt pissed off that no one’s put out the recycling bin (again), then you’ll understand my poems.

I was granted a partial scholarship by Vermont Studio but I haven’t been able to secure any grant funding to help me get to Vermont. Which is why – despite asking for help being something I’m really bad at – I’m here asking people if they’d help support me make the most of this opportunity. It’s your chance to be a patron of the arts. Which is a pretty awesome thing.