Peter Bland (born 12 May 1934 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire) is a British-New Zealand poet and actor.
Contents
Life
He emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 20 and graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington.
He worked as a radio producer for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation.
He became closely associated with the Wellington Group which included James K. Baxter and Louis Johnson. He worked in theatre, as co-founder and artistic director of Downstage Theatre from 1964–68.
He returned to Britain in 1970 for a short time but now lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Awards and honours
1977 Cholmondeley Award
Arvon Foundation International Poetry Competition, England
2011 Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement
Works
Poetry
Title 3 poets: I. Habitual fevers, by Peter Bland. II. The watchers, by John Boyd. III. The sensual anchor, by Victor O'Leary. Capricorn Press. 1958.
My Side of the Story: Poems 1960–1964. Mate Books. 1964.
Domestic Interiors. Wai-te-ata Press. 1964.
The Man With the Carpet-Bag. Caxton Press. 1972.
Mr. Maui. London Magazine Editions. 1976.
Primitives. Wai-te-ata Press. 1979.
Stone Tents. London Magazine Editions. 1981. ISBN 978-0-904388-40-4.
The Crusoe Factor. London Magazine Editions. 1985.
Selected Poems. McIndoe. 1987.
Paper Boats. J. McIndoe. 1991. ISBN 978-0-86868-130-6.
Selected Poems. Carcanet. 1998. ISBN 978-1-85754-357-5.
Let's Meet: poems 1985-2003. Steele Roberts. 2003. ISBN 978-1-877338-07-6.
Ports of Call. Steele Roberts. 2003. ISBN 978-1-877338-04-5.
The Night Kite: Poems for Children. Illustrator Carl Bland. Mallinson Rendel. 2004. ISBN 978-0-908783-83-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
Mr Maui's Monologues. Steele Roberts. 2008. ISBN 978-1-877448-27-0.
Loss. Steele Roberts. 2010. ISBN 978-1-877448-97-3.
Plays
Father’s Day (Wellington, 1966; the first locally-written production at Downstage Theatre)
George the Mad Ad Man (Wellington, 1967, and Coventry, England, 1969).
Film and television acting
A Touch of the Other (1970)
Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1974)
Dangerous Orphans (1985)
Came a Hot Friday (1985)
Queen City Rocker (1986)
Heart of the High Country (1985)
Porters (1988)
Memoir
Sorry, I'm a Stranger Here Myself. Vintage. 2004. ISBN 978-1-86941-632-4.