Hera Lindsay Bird: I prefer poetry that allows room for ugliness and error

The New Zealander has become a cult favourite for her explicit, cutting and often funny writing. But, she says, you can’t judge poems by page views

It’s a midwinter Monday night and Hera Lindsay Bird – New Zealand’s most exciting young poet – is tucked up in bed in pyjamas and a robe her boyfriend calls “too Laura Ashley for human consumption”.

Her first book of poetry – a provocative, raunchy bestseller – was published in July by Victoria University Press and a reprint has already been ordered.

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I never want to say that I don’t work extremely hard at what I do