Poet Laureate David Eggleton tenure extended
New Zealand’s poet laureate, David Eggleton, will get more time to write and perform after Covid-19 compromised his two-year tenure as laureate.
Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa National Library of New Zealand has extended his term by an extra year to give Eggleton the ability to deliver live, on-site performances around the country.
“Due to the lockdown and social distancing requirements, we felt it only fair to offer Eggleton the opportunity of a third year,” Alexander Turnbull Library chief librarian Chris Szekely said.
While Eggleton’s “been delivering brilliantly through online channels... for someone who is known as an outstanding live-performance poet, it was particularly unfortunate that this aspect has been impacted by the pandemic,” Szekely said.