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Three German and three New Zealand poets came together on June 6 to witness the Transit of Venus and will talk about the inspiration from their transit experiences at public presentations in Wellington next week.

Three German and three New Zealand poets came together on June 6 to witness the Transit of Venus and will talk about the inspiration from their transit experiences at public presentations in Wellington next week.

The Transit of Venus is a rare astronomical phenomenon where Venus appears as a small dot gliding across the sun. On June 6, a series of celebrations were centred at Tolaga Bay on the East Coast, where Captain James Cook anchored after witnessing this event in Tahiti in 1769.

The German poets visiting New Zealand are Uwe Kolbe, Brigitte Oleschinski and Ulrike Almut Sandig and worked alongside New Zealand poets Hinemoana Baker, Glenn Colquhoun and Chris Price in Tolaga Bay.

After the Transit, the group will head to Wellington to take part in creative workshops at Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters.

New Zealand host and International Institute of Modern Letters chair Professor Bill Manhire says the poets’ visit offers a unique opportunity for an international exchange of language and culture.

“Poets have always gazed up at the stars, and it will be fascinating to watch how these creative minds spark off each other and to see how an event like the Transit of Venus inspires their work.”

In October the New Zealand poets complete the exchange by travelling to Berlin to meet up with their German counterparts and to reinterpret each other’s work with the help of translators in a unique cultural exchange.

The poets will then travel to Frankfurt to take part in a programme showcasing New Zealand’s literary and artistic endeavours as part of the Frankfurt Book Fair, where New Zealand is this year’s Guest of Honour.

The exchange is being organised by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the Goethe-Institut New Zealand with funding support from the German Foreign Office, the Berlin Literaturwerkstatt and Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters.

Goethe-Institut director Bettina Senff said she was proud to be involved in such a creative endeavour that is not only of historical significance but would also highlight the talents of both countries’ poets.

Passages: Reading around the Transit
Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University, Wellington
Wednesday 13 June 2012
6pm
Free entry

A panel discussion with readings: German and New Zealand poets respond to the Transit of Venus 2012 celebrations at Tolaga Bay, exploring the process of writing about this extraordinary astronomical phenomenon.

Berlin Poetry Night
New Zealand Film Archive, Ghuznee St, Wellington
Thursday 14 June 2012
5pm
Free entry

Listen to the poets from Berlin and to Aurelie Maurin from the Berlin Literaturwerkstatt introducing the ZEBRA poetry film award and the online poetry project.

Source - Media Release: Ministry for Culture and Heritage