The Owhanake Barn Deck Chair readings - Waiheke Book Festival

Book lovers and poetry lovers can enjoy a relaxed and enchanting afternoon of  Deck Chair readings at the Owhanake Barn on Saturday 5 November.

“It’s been a dream since starting the festival to use local and iconic Waiheke venues,” says Creative Director Geraldine O'Sullivan Beere.   “We want to add a real flavour of Waiheke to the book festival. Its spring and it’s on an island - why not make the most of that.”

The Owhanake Barn is used for the Summer School and Arts in residence programme by the Waiheke Community Art Gallery.  Located at 57 Korora Road   The barn reminds us of the rural farming background of the island. Note that The Owhanake Barn is the second barn along Korora Road.

The event includes the book launch  of A Messy Affair by Caroline Lark plus  master poet Jenny Bornholdt, and  accomplished Waiheke poets  Sue Fitchett and Pita Rikys and a little music. Wine and strawberries will be included and the wonderful French crepe trailer will also be there to tempt  the hungry.  Bookings can be made online or at the Waiheke Community Art Gallery. Early bird bookings are available now.

Book Launch a Messy Affair by Caroline Lark

Caroline Lark is a poet, playwright, fiction writer and artist. She was born in London and graduated in Fine Arts, Psychology and Philosophy of Education from Cambridge in 1988. Her poetry is widely published in the UK and New Zealand and has appeared in literary journals in Australia and France. Her work is collected in the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Poetry Library, London, and on the Aotearoa New Zealand Poetry Sound Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.

She was the winner of the Hazard Press/Quote Unquote short fiction award in 1995 with her novella Days. Her radio plays have been broadcast by Radio NZ and she has written three stage plays, the latest Eros, produced by the Christchurch's Court Theatre in 2010. There have been six exhibitions of her paintings and prints in England and New Zealand. She was a fixed term lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Canterbury before moving to Auckland in 2008.

Caroline now runs Creative Writing courses for both Auckland University and Otago University.