Well, thought I’d better have a look at what the Montana Poetry peeps are serving up for us this year on Friday 16th of July and goodness me – it’s quite an embarrassment of riches … from Ponsonby to Porirua (and much further south), prepare to pulsate with a positive plague of possibly prurient poetry! With a gratis attack of irrelevant alliteration thrown in, sorry.

Apparently we are a poetically aware bunch: according to a Creative New Zealand Arts Participation survey, 205,000 New Zealand adults read poetry every month – an activity ranked 10th out of 35 arts activities. Over a year, reading poetry is among women's top 10 arts activities; it's in the top 10 for the 18 to 24 years group and for 60+ years; and in the top 10 for New Zealand's Pacific Islands people.

But first: in case you didn’t know, the Montana Poetry Day is an annual event, whose purpose is to showcase the excellence of contemporary New Zealand poetry; to broaden and strengthen the appeal of poetry; to popularise its image and show that poetry is a medium that is accessible to all and, last but not least, to heighten the profile of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. All of which it undoubtably does.

Twenty-five poems are selected each year for the Best New Zealand Poems website at Victoria University – it’s a rich legacy, take a look.

So. Here is a mere smattering of the range of goodies on offer.

In Auckland the Festival kicks off on Sunday 11 July with a Film Festival screening at the Academy Theatre of Hone Tuwhare – The Return Home. Seventy-five years after the poet left Northland, Hokianga wordsmith Glenn Colquhoun wrote and published a poem inviting Hone to return. The poem caught Hone’s attention and he joined Glenn in a poetry reading tour of Northland. This film captures the magic of this rare journey and is an insight into the creative personality of one of New Zealand’s greatest artists. Directed by Michelle McGregor, this is the world premier screening.

Down to Palmerston North for the Great Palmy Poetry Giveaway - two ‘Poetry Princesses’ will attack Palmerston North’s central business district on the day, giving away 300 booklets, each attached to a single stem flower. The Arts Manawatu booklet contains 8 poems by local poets … Nice!

Wellington has a few corkers but this is my pick. The New Zealand Book Council hosting Best New Zealand Poems. The featured poets include Jenny Bornholdt, Kate Camp, Geoff Cochrane, Gregory O’Brien and Chris Price. The event will be chaired by Damien Wilkins. Incidentally, we'd like to nominate Jenny Bornholdt and Gregory O'Brien as poetry's hottest couple for their co-editing of My Heart Goes Swimming: New Zealand Love Poems. Hey, it's long overdue.

And there’s more film for your poetic delectation down Wellington way in the form of Short ‘n’ Sweet, a 50 minute screening of a programme of international cine-poems. The programme will include local luminaries such as Len Lye and Michele Leggott, and contemporary new media artists from overseas. There will be two screenings, one on Wednesday 14th July (evening) and the second Friday 16th July (lunchtime). For more information contact the New Zealand Film Archive on 384-7647 or email steve@nzfa.org.nz

Christchurch will be gleeful – they’ve scored Vincent O’Sullivan! (seach this site for more on Vincent…) Easts Books on High and the Press will present an 'Evening of Poetry', featuring Mr O’Sullivan, an open mike poetry session and an impromptu haiku competition.

Dunedin will be similarly smug, they’re planning ‘A Feast of Poetry featuring Cilla McQueen’. This event will feature the launch of Under Flagstaff, an anthology of Dunedin poetry edited by Heather Murray and Robin Laws. The launch will be followed by a poetry reading by six local poets as well as a reading by Cilla McQueen. For more information contact the Dunedin Public Library on 03-474 3617.

Appetite whetted? Then take yourself off to the New Zealand Book Council site for further information. We all have poetry in our very blood and bones … indeed, there are quite a few events in these upcoming festivities where you can write some of your own. You know you want to.