(she/her)
Finalist in the 2008 Montana New Zealand Book Awards
A Long Girl Ago
Victoria University Press, 2007
A Long Girl Ago draws on ten years experience and writing.
A Long Girl Ago draws on ten years experience and writing. At its heart are three years Aitchison spent living in a remote fishing village in Hokkaido, Japan, where she taught English in junior high and primary schools and was extensively involved in karaoke and snowboarding. Other poems go back to her previous life, or deal with re-entry into New Zealand society.
Excerpt
from launch speech
‘It is difficult to describe Johanna Aitchison’s poems in “A Long Girl Ago” without sounding like I’m describing Johanna herself. The poems are fearless. They aren’t afraid to go fast, flex their muscles, or make some noise. They aren’t afraid to wink and sparkle, to rip their stockings and break a nail. They aren’t afraid to feel things.’
Dora Malech, author of Flourish
Excerpt
from Judge’s Report Montana New Zealand Book Awards
“Johanna Aitchison’s poetry is immediately noteworthy for the obvious joy that it takes in the uses and misuses of language and the many forms in which that language is contained. Alongside familiar standards such as the pantoum and list poems are poems that make full use of space on the page. As much for this full exploration of the possibilities of form, these poems are notable for their musical qualities: Aitchison has a very good ear for rhythm and internal rhyme.”
Reviews
“The poet lands us in her word with sweetly baffled wordplay and an eye for the unexpected. The book’s first and third sections are kiwi bread-and-butter, sandwiching a heart of ‘Japanese poems in English,’ inspired by three years spent living in a remote Japanese fishing village … Tempering her lyric impulses with a beguiling talkiness, Aitchison uses strangeness to her advantage. She employs startling verbs to explore human connection … The deliberate disorientations in this collection are reined in by its emotional earnestness. Aitchison’s lively experimentations step outside the parameters set up by much contemporary, lyric New Zealand poetry—and that’s a breath of sea air.”
Joan Fleming, author of Dirt
“This is my pick for the year's most sparkling debut. Language in all its manifestations fascinates Aitchison - always a good sign in a fledgling poet. Overall, her verse has an exciting experimental edge. I have no idea in which direction she's likely to head next, but I see that as a positive - and a welcome relief from writers content to repeat the same effects ad nauseam. I feel confident that Aitchison is a name to watch for the future.”
Iain Sharp, author of The Singing Harp