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Karlo Mila on the literary map
Karlo Mila's appearance at the Queensland Poetry Festival from 7 to 9 September is the Auckland poet's first foray into the international market and an opportunity for her to expand her readership.
"I'm excited about the Queensland festival," Mila says. "Earlier in the year, I appeared at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival and it was great. I enjoy the performance aspect of poetry and it made me feel a part of the literary community. It was also lovely to meet some of the people who read my work."
Mila is one of ten New Zealand writers taking part in international literary festivals this year through the New Zealand Book Council's International Writers' Programme, run in conjunction with Creative New Zealand's Audience and Market Development team. The Queensland Poetry Festival is Australia's most highly regarded annual poetry festival.
Two years ago, Mila's first collection, Dream Fish Floating, was released by Huia Publishers with the support of a Creative New Zealand grant. It went on to win the Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry at the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.
"Multi-cultural, lyrical voice"
Of the collection, the judges said: "With her roots in Pakeha New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga, Karlo Mila writes with flair, energy and passion, creating a direct, accessible poetry. This multi-cultural, lyrical voice is one the judges expect to hear a lot more of."
Even before that success, the collection had attracted attention. Soon after it was published, Mila was contacted by the English department at Victoria University and was told that the department wanted to include Dream Fish Floating in one of its first-year courses.
"The idea of hundreds of students studying my first collection was fantastic. I couldn't believe it, especially so soon after it was published. At that stage, I didn't even feel as though I was on the literary map."
One of the poems in the collection, For Albert Wendt (On his Birthday), was also used in an NCEA English exam for secondary school students last year.
Second poetry collection
Now, Mila has completed her second poetry collection and has been working with fellow poet Glenn Colquhoun during the editing process. The collection will be published by Huia Publishers early next year, again with the support of a Creative New Zealand grant.
"With this collection, I've been a lot more conscious of poetry as a craft and there's been a more rigorous process of critiqueing the work," she says.
Included in the collection is the artwork of Delicia Sampero, who painted the cover of Dream Fish Floating. "It's been a lovely dialogue between the two of us. As she's read my poems and responded by painting, I've looked at her work and responded with more poems."
Mila says her new collection is "a bit more grown-up", written by someone in her 30s rather than in her 20s. Someone who is married and has two young children.
Communicating with her readers
Although she is keen to write a novel and more short stories at some stage, writing poetry works well with her busy life. Along with two toddlers, she is also completing her PhD and doing consultancy work.
"However, I can't imagine not writing poetry because it's an important part of who I am," she says.
For Karlo, it's vital that her poetry communicates with her readers. It's not an academic exercise and trying to be clever for the sake of cleverness.
"I've really tried to make this new collection inclusive, to draw people in and take people on a journey. I hope the poems strike a chord with Tongan people, particularly young Pacific women, but I'd like to think they will be accessible to everyone."
