Alan Mervyn Brunton (14 October 1946 – 27 June 2002) was a New Zealand poet and playwright.

Biography

Brunton was born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

and educated at

Hamilton Boys' High School Hamilton Boys' High School (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Kura Tamatāne o Kirikiriroa'') is a boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand and is the largest secondary school in the Waikato region. The school was estab ...

, the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

and

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

. He was founding editor of Freed, and in 1970 Brunton moved to Europe and Asia, publishing Messengers in Blackface (1973, London). From 1974 to 1978 he co-founded an experimental theatre group, Red Mole with his partner

Sally Rodwell Sally Katherine Rodwell (16 May 1950 – 15 October 2006) was a New Zealand multi-disciplinary artist who worked mainly in the fields of theatre, film, and poetry. Her creative work included performing, directing and writing; making masks, puppe ...

. He co-edited

Spleen The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The spleen plays important roles in reg ...

1976–77. He lived his latter years at

Island Bay Island Bay is a coastal suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, situated south of the city centre. Island Bay lies on the bay which shares its name, one of numerous small bays off Cook Strait and west of Lyall Bay. 500m offshore i ...

, a suburb of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. He died in Amsterdam in 2002 during a visit to Europe.

Works

Alan Brunton's work was interwoven between his poetry and theatre. He performed as part of the troupe in Red Mole in many venues including in the 1970s Carmen's Balcony in Wellington, New Zealand. Carmen's Balcony was a notorious nightclub run by

Carmen Rupe Carmen Rupe (10 October 1936 – 15 December 2011), was a New Zealand drag performer, brothel keeper, anti-discrimination activist, would-be politician and HIV/AIDS activist. Carmen Rupe was New Zealand's first drag queen to reach celebrity ...

. His colleague Arthur Baysting was performing there too and says of his work: "Alan’s political eye could be sharp and droll: “the vaudeville king of politics is calling names again on the radio … how much gin does He drink in a day?” (''Sally’s Turn to Talk''). On a good night, in the face of drunken calls for the live rock band or topless dancers, he could silence the packed crowds with a tender, softly spoken love song." *''Black & White Anthology (1976).'' A 33-part sequence with an Asian setting *''Oh Ravachol (1978).'' Red Mole *''And She Said'' ''(1984)''. Red Mole *''New Order'' ''(1986)''. Red Mole *''Red Mole, a Sketchbook''. ISBN/SKU: 9780864730930 *''Beyond the Oh La La Mountains (2014).'' Poems 1968–2002. Titus Books. 2014 *''Ecstasy (2001).'' A collection of poems for the new millennium. Bumper Books. Brunton has also edited and co-edited a number of publications.

References

External links

*Alan Brunton at AudioCultur

*Alan Brunton on the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Website curated by Michelle Leggot

*Alan Brunton on the New Zealand Book Council website author descriptio

1946 births 2002 deaths New Zealand male poets 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights 20th-century New Zealand poets 20th-century New Zealand male writers New Zealand male dramatists and playwrights University of Auckland alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni People educated at Hamilton Boys' High School {{NewZealand-writer-stub