Tāmaki Poems

Tāmaki Poems is a community generated poetry project that centers on a map of Auckland compiled by Mr Leslie Kelly 1940. In the lead up to the opening of Tāmaki Herenga Waka: Stories of Auckland, our new permanent gallery opening in 2021 here at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum, writers of all ages and backgrounds from across the city are invited to write new poems of place, heritage and identity, and pin them to an online version of the map, where they can be enjoyed by others.

Poetry can be written on any subject but whatever else it is about; it tells us something about the person who has written it as well as the time and place it was written in. A poem about place therefore, has the potential to provide us with something much deeper than straight factual information ever could.

Tāmaki Poems will help us reflect on our cultural identities in one of the most interesting cities in the world to live in.