Philly Poetry Chapbook Review is pleased to feature Nicola Andrews’ poem “Whenua” as our first featured chapbook poem of Issue 4: July/August 2024. You can find more of their poetry in their chapbook, Māori Maid Difficult, available from Tram Editions.
Whenua
The word “whenua” can mean
ground, country, domain, after
birth, land/s, and placenta in te reo
Māori. I was born three months pre
mature, my mother labouring for both
our lives. In their haste, the doctors threw out
my placenta, like a used cotton swab.
It is said that a buried whenua binds the
baby to its place of birth, both in spirit and
body. Relegated to medical
waste, my whenua bound me to Accident and
Emergency. A regular at Starship, my
mother revived me on numerous
occasions, CPR drills a hard re
set for my failing body, attention and
toys enough to keep me at ease.
An adult abroad, I’ve had several
surgeries now, while my mother declined
surgery, then declined slowly. Both governed by
Hospital Time’s blandness, we talked small in
to the expansive nothingness of hours
I’d give anything for more
of. Red whenua, they don’t call
it the damn mother land for nothing.
(This poem was first published by The Spinoff Review of Books.)
About the Poem
I wrote “Whenua” to grieve and honor the loss of my mother, and the many sacrifices and difficult decisions she made during her lifetime. Simultaneously, this poem grasps and honors my Indigenous language, te reo Māori. I chose this poem to close my chapbook, and hopefully stay with the reader, in stillness.
Nicola Andrews
Author Bio
Nicola Andrews (Māori, Pākehā) is a member of the Ngāti Paoa iwi currently living on Ramaytush Ohlone territory. Their writing practice has been supported by communities including the Kearny Street Interdisciplinary Writers Lab, Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, Rooted & Written, and the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation. In 2023, they were awarded the University of Washington Information School Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Alumni Impact Award, and won the AAALS Indigenous Writers Prize for Poetry. Their micro-chap SENTIMENTAL VALUE was published in the 2023 Ghost City Press Summer Series, and their work is forthcoming in several anthologies. In their spare time, they watch dinosaur documentaries with their cat.
From Māori Maid Difficult
“He karanga: poems that call out to those who understand and have been yearning to hear a
voice meant for them. He wero: poems that call out those who get in the way. Ancestors,
family, language and land are everywhere – invoked, described, present, pulsing, overlapping – in this stunning collection that speaks from, about, to, and towards Aotearoa. In so many ways Māori Maid Difficult is a first yet it brings to mind generations of Māori poets who have gone before. Smart, sharp, funny, brittle, supple. Giving and refusing. Irreverent and sensitive. Vulnerable and mysterious. Aroha and hahaha and hā. All at the same time. All in the best ways.” -Alice Te Punga Somerville, winner of the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry
Contents
Check out new poetry books published the week of 7/2 from Black Lawrence Press, LSU Press, Persea, Omnidawn, Bloodaxe Books and Central Avenue Publishing.
Check out new poetry chapbooks for June 2024 from Driftwood Press, Sheila-Na-Gig Inc., Diode Editions, Querencia Press, The Poetry Box, Finishing Line Press, Bottlecap Press and an Editor’s Pick from Tupelo Press.
Check out new poetry books published the week of 7/9 from Finishing Line Press, New Directions, Phoneme Media, University of Calgary Press and Curbstone Books.
July ‘24: A Fledgling Journal No More
We’ve completed our first volume, there’s a new featured chapbook poem, and we’re starting to look for a Poetry Editor to expand what we publish. Check out the editor’s note for July 2024.
Chapbook Poem: Whenua by Nicola Andrews
Read the featured Chapbook Poem of the Month for July 2024, “Whenua” from Māori Maid Difficult by Nicola Andrews, along with a few words from the poet.
Check out new poetry books published the week of 7/16 from Finishing Line Press, Soft Skull, Penguin Books, Regal House Publishing and University Of Minnesota Press.
Check out new poetry books published the week of 7/23 from Host Publications, W. W. Norton & Company, Carcanet Press Ltd., LSU Press, Finishing Line Press, The Song Cave and Wake Forest University Press.
Check out new poetry books published the week of 7/30 from Delete Press, Quale Press, Duke University Press, Seagull Books, Sarabande Books, Michigan State University Press and Alternating Current Press.
Southern Literary Tradition: On ‘Snake Lore’ by Jane Morton
In this essay, C.M. Crockford reviews “Snake Lore” by poet Jane Morton, a chapbook published by Black Lawrence Press in February 2024.
Check out new poetry books published the week of 8/6 from NYRB Poets, Belle Point Press, Finishing Line Press, Black Lawrence Press, Wayne State University Press, Milkweed Editions, Penguin Books, Bloodaxe Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Alice James Books, Mercer University Press and two Editor’s Picks from Coffee House Press and Wesleyan University Press.