Alistair Campbell (1) (1925–2009)

The following Maori legends have been retold by Alistair Campbell: How Maui obtained the Magic Jawbone; Maui nooses the Sun; The Great Fish of Maui; Maui and the Fire Goddess; Maui and the Death Goddess; Tinirau and his Pet Whale; Rata and his Canoe; Te Kanawa and the Fairies; Kahukura and the Fairy Fishermen; The Magical Wooden Head; The Story of Hinemoa and Te Houtaewa and the Kumaras.

Alistair Campbell is unmatched in New Zealand as a lyric poet . This selection from his early and mid-career poems showcases that lyricism, but also, especially in the sequence "Sanctuary of Spirits", a poetic engagement with the career of the formidable 19th century Maori chief and warrior Tamihana Te Rauparaha, foreshadows the darker poetry, concerned with history, myth and war, to which he was increasingly to turn. This is one of the great New Zealand poetry collections.