Nelson Wattie: 2011
Autumn Writers Residency

Nelson Wattie was awarded the Autumn Residency (mid-March to mid-May) to work on a literary biography of Kapiti poet, novelist and playwright Alistair Te Ariki Campbell. Dr Wattie is an author, translator, academic and opera singer from Wellington, who taught in German universities for many years and has written extensively about aspects of New Zealand literature. He was a fellow at the Stout Research Centre in Wellington in 1989-90.His project is a major literary biography of Alistair Te Ariki Campbell (1929-2009), based on interviews with the poet and other personal documents, including his diaries over 40 years. Campbell was a major New Zealand literary figure, whose work explores both his European and Cook Island heritage.