After Bathing at Baxter's: Essays and Notebooks

After Bathing at Baxter's is a personal exploration of-and homage to-some of the important New Zealand poets and painters of the 20th century, beginning-as the title suggests-with James K. Baxter. This collection is filled with anecdotes and personal observation. Alongside Baxter, the book includes major pieces on writers Kendrick Smithyman, Janet Frame, and Ruth Dallas. Following a sequence of autobiographical stories, O'Brien shifts his gaze to the visual arts, taking the reader on a tour of Ralph Hotere, Colin McCahon, Rosalie Gascoigne, and Denis O'Connor.

Author Biography: Gregory O'Brien has exhibited paintings, illustrated books, and published numerous collections of poetry, nonfiction, and a novel. As well as coediting three anthologies of New Zealand poetry, O'Brien has coedited (with Te Miringa Hohaia and Lara Strongman) Parihaka: The Art of Passive Resistance, which was cowinner of the Biography and History Prize, Montana New Zealand Book Awards, 2001. He lives in New Zealand and works as a curator at City Gallery Wellington; runs a poetry workshop at the International Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University, Wellington; and appears regularly on New Zealand's National Radio.