Karlo Mila

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Karlo Mila (born 1974) is a New Zealand poet. Her first collection, Dream Fish Floating, received the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry in 2006 at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. She has subsequently published two further poetry collections, A Well Written Body (2008) and Goddess Muscle (2020), the latter of which was longlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry.

Biography[]

Karlo Mila is of Tongan, Palangi (Palagi) and Samoan heritage. She was born in 1974 in Rotorua, New Zealand,[1] and was educated at Massey University in Palmerston North. Her first award was the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry at the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, for Dream Fish Floating.[2] She then went on to contribute to anthologies such as Whetu Moana (Auckland University Press, 2003), Niu Voices (Huia Publishers, 2006), and Short Fuse: The Global Anthology of New Fusion Poetry (Rattapallax Press, 2002).[2] Her second poetry collection, A Well Written Body (Huia, 2008), was a collaboration with German-born artist Delicia Sampero.[2]

Mila says she has been writing poetry since Standard 3.[3] Her work was described by reviewer Nicky Pellegrino as "poetry [that] speaks to the soul".[4] Her creative-style includes many references to her cultural roots including the broader Pacific, political issues, and love. She is also interested in the idea of literary whakapapa (genealogy), dedicating entire sections to it ("Chanting Back To The Bones" and "Tuakana") in Dream Fish Floating. In 2010, she completed her PhD in Sociology at Massey University, after being based in Auckland for 10 years.[4][5]

Awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2015, Mila had a three month residency at University of Hawai'i.[6] In 2016, she was awarded the Contemporary Pacific Art Award at the Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifka Awards.[7] Poetry by Mila was included in UPU, a curation of Pacific Island writers’ work which was first presented at the Silo Theatre as part of the Auckland Arts Festival in March 2020.[8] UPU was remounted as part of the Kia Mau Festival in Wellington in June 2021.[9]

In 2021, Mila's poetry collection Goddess Muscle (2020)[10] was longlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.[11]

Works[]

Poetry[]

  • Dream Fish Floating (Huia, 2005)
  • A Well Written Body, with German-born artist Delicia Sampero (Huia, 2008)
  • Goddess Muscle (Huia, 2020)

Anthologies[]

  • Short Fuse: The Global Anthology of New Fusion Poetry (Rattapallax Press, 2002)
  • Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English (Auckland University Press, 2003)
  • Best New Zealand Poems (Victoria University Press, 2003, 2005 & 2006)
  • Niu Voices (Huia, 2006)

References[]

  1. ^ "Karlo Mila". Academy of New Zealand Literature. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Mila, Karlo". Read NZ Te Pou Muramura. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Huia Publishers - Maori, Pacific, New Zealand books". Huia.co.nz. 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Nicky Pellegrino (18 July 2008). "Thirtysomething love poetry". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  5. ^ "Karlo Mila-Schaaf". Massey University. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Acclaimed Pacific poet Dr Karlo Mila awarded writing residency in Hawai'i". Fulbright New Zealand. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Arts Pasifika Awards". Creative New Zealand. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  8. ^ "UPU". Silo Theatre. March 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  9. ^ "UPU". Kai Mau Festival. June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  10. ^ Mila-Schaaf, Karlo (2020). Goddess muscle. Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-77550-400-9. OCLC 1222909292.
  11. ^ "Longlist 2021". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
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