Tāmaki Poems is a community generated poetry project that centers on a map of Auckland compiled by Mr Leslie Kelly 1940. Auckland Museum has opened Tāmaki Herenga Waka: Stories of Auckland, our new permanent galleries, and we are in need of writers of all ages and backgrounds from across the city to write new poems of place, heritage and identity, and pin them to an online version of a map of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, where they can be open and enjoyed by others.
Poetry can be written on any subject but whatever it’s about; it always tells us something about the person who has written it as well as the time and place it was written. A poem about place therefore, has the potential to provide us with something much deeper than straight factual information ever could.
Come and explore our new gallery and then add to Tāmaki Poems, it will help us all reflect on our ‘Aucklandness’ in one of the most interesting cities in the world to live, work and play in.