Bernadette Hall (born 1945) is a New Zealand playwright and poet.

Biography

Hall was born in 1945 in

Alexandra, New Zealand Alexandra (Māori language, Māori: ''Manuherikia'' or ''Areketanara'') is a town in the Central Otago district of the South Island of New Zealand. It is on the banks of the Clutha River (at the confluence of the Manuherikia River), on New Zeal ...

. She was raised in what she describes as "a small-city Catholic community that was proud, theatrical and pretty much enclosed." After a career as a teacher of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

classical studies Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages ...

, she started writing full-time in her forties. She has held residencies at both

Canterbury University The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

and

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

and is widely published.Bernadette Hall biography at the IIML
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biography at the

New Zealand Electronic Text Center The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC; ) is a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials that are held by the Victoria University of Wellington Library. It was named the New Zeala ...

She spent 10 years as the editor of ''Takahe'' magazine and five as the poetry editor of ''

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

'',

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 ...

's main

daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

. Hall's poetry collection ''The Lustre Jug'' was a finalist in the 2010 New Zealand Post Book Awards. She is the patron of Hagley Writers' Institute.

Works

Plays

* ''Glad and the Angels'' (1992)Bernadette Hall
biography at the

New Zealand Book Council Read NZ Te Pou Muramura (formerly the New Zealand Book Council) is a not-for-profit organisation that presents a wide range of programmes to promote books and reading in New Zealand. It was established in 1972 and its programmes have included ...

* ''The Clothesline'' (1993)Bernadette Hall bibliography at The NZ Literature File
* ''The Girl Who Sings Waterfalls'' (1992)

Poetry collections

* ''Heartwood'' (Caxton Press, Christchurch, 1989)Bernadette Hall
biography at the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre. * ''of Elephants etc.'' (Untold Press, 1990) * ''The Persistent Levitator'' (Victoria University Press, 1994) * ''Still Talking'' (Victoria University Press, 1997) * ''Settler Dreaming'' (Victoria University Press, 2001) * ''The Merino Princess: Selected Poems'' (Victoria University Press, 2004) * ''The Ponies'' (Victoria University Press, 2007) * ''The Lustre Jug'' (Victoria University Press, 2009) * ''Life & Customs'' (Victoria University Press, 2014)

Awards and honours

* 1991 – Writer in residence at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

* 1996 –

Robert Burns Fellowship The Robert Burns Fellowship is a New Zealand literary residency. Established in 1958 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations of the birth of Robert Burns, it is often claimed to be New Zealand's premier literary residency. The list of past ...

at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

* 2004 – Antarctica New Zealand Arts Fellowship * 2006 – Writer's fellowship at

* 2015 –

Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement is a List of New Zealand literary awards, New Zealand literary award established in 2003 by the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand), the national arts development agenc ...

in Poetry * 2017 – Appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to literature, in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

References

1945 births 20th-century New Zealand poets New Zealand women poets New Zealand schoolteachers People from Alexandra, New Zealand New Zealand editors New Zealand magazine editors New Zealand women magazine editors New Zealand Roman Catholics 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights Living people New Zealand women dramatists and playwrights International Writing Program alumni Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit 21st-century New Zealand poets 21st-century New Zealand women writers 20th-century New Zealand women writers {{NewZealand-writer-stub