logo
Phantom Billstickers Unveils 2025 Poem Poster Season And Celebrates National Poetry Day: A Nationwide Literary Feast

Phantom Billstickers Unveils 2025 Poem Poster Season And Celebrates National Poetry Day: A Nationwide Literary Feast

Scoop21-07-2025
Phantom Billstickers is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated 2025 season of poem posters, set to transform street poster sites across New Zealand over the coming months. This initiative, a cornerstone of Phantom Billstickers commitment to public art and literature, coincides with their ongoing dedication as a key sponsor of Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, an annual countrywide celebration of words and creativity.
The 2025 poem poster season will showcase works from a stellar line-up of New Zealand's poetic talent, including celebrated poets Ben Brown, Glenn Colquhoun, and newcomer Taylor Grace. Adding further prestige, the collection will also feature powerful contributions from the Ockham Book Awards finalists for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry, namely C.K. Stead, Richard von Sturmer, Robert Sullivan, and award winner Emma Neale. This diverse selection promises to offer a rich tapestry of perspectives and styles, ensuring there's a poem to resonate with every passerby.
"Poetry on the street is a simple, yet profound way to connect with people. It offers a moment of reflection, a flash of beauty, or a spark of thought in their daily lives," says Robin McDonnell, CEO of Phantom Billstickers. He adds, "As Phantom Billstickers founder and patron of the poems on poster initiative, Jim Wilson, aptly puts it: 'When you put a poem on the street, you're putting up words straight from the heart, you're sparking conversations and igniting imaginations.' We believe these poems will do just that.'
Phantom Billstickers' passion for making poetry accessible extends beyond the posters. As the proud sponsor of Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, held annually on the fourth Friday in August (this year, Friday, August 22nd, 2025), they play a vital role in unleashing the power of poetry across Aotearoa. Events ranging from open mic nights and school initiatives to public displays and live performances will take place nationwide, fostering a vibrant literary landscape. Phantom Billstickers actively supports and promotes these events, ensuring poetry truly pulses throughout our communities.
For decades, Phantom Billstickers has championed the accessibility of art, transforming urban landscapes into impromptu galleries and bringing the power of poetry out of books and into the public eye. The 2025 poem poster season and their continued support of National Poetry Day underscore this enduring commitment, inviting New Zealanders to engage with the beauty and depth of their nation's poetic talent.
Keep an eye out for these captivating poem posters appearing on Phantom Billstickers sites nationwide over the coming months, and mark your calendars for Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day on Friday, August 22nd, 2025, for a nationwide celebration of words.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Newsmakers: Looking back at NZ's first ever live Lotto draw
Newsmakers: Looking back at NZ's first ever live Lotto draw

1News

time2 days ago

  • 1News

Newsmakers: Looking back at NZ's first ever live Lotto draw

In this week's Newsmakers Revisited, we head back to the first-ever live Lotto draw in New Zealand. Radio presenter Doug Harvey and dancer Annie Wilson were the original hosts for the television debut on August 1, 1987. New Zealanders tuning into the draw were introduced to a very expensive piece of machinery - the barrel - a big plastic container holding the Lotto balls. In a sign of the times, people living rurally were given details of how they could get a ticket delivered by mail order. Also in the studio with the hosts were three scrutineers who sat and watched to make sure everything was above board. ADVERTISEMENT Wilson said that during the first draw, she wasn't thinking about the people who might be winning, but making sure she was at her best. "I don't think I thought about that at the time. I think I was just too busy reading the autocue and just making sure that knowing it was live, just to be on the ball, not to use a pun." She'd had to audition for the job by pretending the balls were falling and reading them out. The first ball of the first-ever lotto draw was number four, but Annie didn't have much time to dwell on the inaugural show — she had another performance to get to. "I was also performing in a show at eight o'clock that night. So literally, the draw happened, the champagne bottle, the cork got popped, and I had to go. "My mum was waiting outside in the little mini, [I was] changing into my costume over the Harbour Bridge and pulling my costume on, doing my makeup. Literally, someone shoved a mic on me and bang, I was on stage. It was a pretty funny night." Her love of the stage soon overcame her love for TV. She played Janet in the Rocky Horror Show with Russel Crowe and Sir Rob Muldoon. A stint as Dr Ropata's unfaithful fiancée on Shortland Street followed. ADVERTISEMENT But it was the weekly few minutes of the lotto draw that made people feel like they knew her, often stopping her on the street to say, "I hope you've got my numbers for Saturday". But those couple of minutes could be fraught. "One day, there was a light that exploded about a minute before we were about to go live. And it was just chaos and panic and sweeping up glass. "So those things happen. And I think one night we couldn't even do the draw because the machine wouldn't work. So we had to come on and say, 'Sorry. Here we are, but we can't do it'." However, that first draw in August 1987 went off without a hitch, with a Division One prize pool of $359,808.45.

Why is NZ On Air suddenly funding reality television?
Why is NZ On Air suddenly funding reality television?

The Spinoff

time7 days ago

  • The Spinoff

Why is NZ On Air suddenly funding reality television?

NZ On Air is funding new seasons of Celebrity Treasure Island and The Traitors NZ – but how do these reality shows reflect who we are? Get in here you lot, because yesterday, NZ On Air announced its Round Tahi 2025 Non-Fiction Funding Decisions. It's big news for those of us who love documentaries, factual series and podcasts, but it's even bigger news if you like reality TV. The three biggest funding beneficiaries were comedy panel show 7 Days ($1,493,313), and reality TV shows The Traitors NZ ($1,436,911) and Celebrity Treasure Island ($1,349,000). While 7 Days is an NZOA funding mainstay, it marks the first time that CTI and The Traitors NZ have received NZ On Air funding. The decision comes as the New Zealand television industry remains in more turmoil than Dame Susan Devoy after a crayfish dinner. TVNZ expects a $49m loss, Sky bought an entire TV channel for a buck and a year ago, it looked like local reality TV might be gone forever. 'The challenging media environment has required a response from NZ On Air, as local platforms have been clear they can no longer afford to commercially fund the local content they previously could,' the funding announcement reads. 'This is impacting the volume of local stories available for New Zealand audiences, and work in the local production sector.' This round, NZ On Air prioritised large-scale non-fiction programmes (with significant co-investment) and committed $12.6 million to a variety of projects. 'We're supporting content with demonstrated audience appeal and cultural relevance,' NZ On Air chief executive Cameron Harland said. 'Shows that help define who we are as New Zealanders. Rather than waiting for market conditions to improve, we're taking action to ensure local content not only survives but flourishes.' On the surface, Celebrity Treasure Island is a foolish reality series where famous people act like silly duffers, but what could be more culturally relevant and defining than watching 71 year-old activist Tāme Iti give a moving pep talk to young comedian James Mustapic, or witnessing actor Gaby Solomona help MP Carmel Sepuloni stay in the fight with a quiet rendition of a traditional Samoan song? Beneath the self-deprecating nature and goofy charity challenges, the series frequently transcends to something beyond just empty entertainment, capturing insightful moments that are uniquely us. As the seasons have progressed, Celebrity Treasure Island has also championed te reo Māori in everyday conversations (regularly using phrases like tīmata and hopuni, as well as the castaways meeting with local iwi to learn the history and cultural significance of the area and share kai). And between the bonkers challenges and silly, silly game play, the show encourages gentle discussions about complex issues like ageism, sexism and queer politics, all on primetime mainstream television. While CTI is a homegrown format, the decision to fund season three of The Traitors NZ could be deemed even more controversial as an overseas franchise import, even if season two was the best reality TV show we've ever made. But it's also one of the few shows left on television that features a cast of everyday New Zealanders, from a clairvoyant to a funeral director to an MMA fighter, and captures the quirks and eccentricities of an unlikely mix of New Zealanders all sharing the same screen. 'It's less of a reality TV show and more an insight into the complexities of the human condition,' we wrote in 2024, praising The Traitor NZ's diverse casting and sense of humour. If you're not a reality TV fan, don't panic – there are also shows that won't feature Gary Freeman wearing a big hat. Along with these two reality TV juggernauts, NZ On Air's latest non-fiction round also includes documentaries such as Songs of Protest, South to the South: The Pacific In Te Waipounamu, and You, Me and Menopause, plus a return season of our own Bryn & Ku's Single's Club. There's also coverage of the Milan Winter Paralympics in March 2026, the return of familiar favourites Country Calendar and My House, My Castle, as well as new shows like coastline safety series Pacific Heat and Celebrity Escape, which sees eight comedians take on an escape room. Just as the nature of broadcast television is changing, it seems the way we need to consider what makes for 'local stories' must also evolve. Not all reality TV is of the sordid, salacious and problematic kind, and CTI and The Traitors NZ are filled with our voices and our humour, in ways you won't find on other reality shows. The genre can even be a place for moments of groundbreaking representation, emotional revelations and heartwarming moments of magic. As for the magic of Celebrity Escape? We'll have to wait and see.

Magda Szubanski to be inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame
Magda Szubanski to be inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame

1News

time03-08-2025

  • 1News

Magda Szubanski to be inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame

Comedy star Magda Szubanski is set to be inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame for her contribution to Australian TV. She becomes the fifth woman inducted since the award was established in 1984, joining Ruth Cracknell, Noni Hazlehurst, Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Rebecca Gibney. Szubanski was best known for winning the hearts of Australians and New Zealanders as the unconventionally sporty, unlucky-in-love Sharon Strzelecki in sitcom Kath and Kim. That sparked roles in the smash-hit movies Babe and Happy Feet, along with both sequels, among others. She first burst onto Australian screens in the mid-1980s after being picked up by ABC talent scouts watching her perform in a university revue. ADVERTISEMENT Her credits included sketch shows Fast Forward and critically acclaimed Big Girl's Blouse, alongside Kath and Kim co-writers Gina Riley and Jane Turner. Off-screen, Szubanski has been a strong advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights. In 2018 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for her contribution to the marriage equality campaign. In May 2025, Szubanski announced she had stage-four mantle cell lymphoma, describing it as a "rare and fast-moving blood cancer". Magda Szubanski announced she had stage-four mantle cell lymphoma in May 2025. (Source: Instagram ) She said she would be lying low to protect her immune system. "I won't sugar-coat it, it's rough," the 64-year-old wrote of her diagnosis at the time. ADVERTISEMENT "But I'm hopeful. I'm being lovingly cared for by friends and family, my medical team is brilliant and I've never felt more held by the people around me." The 65th Logie Awards will take place on Sunday, with women set to dominate Australian TV's most glamorous night. All but one of the nominations for the coveted Gold Logie award were women and the night would be hosted by comedian Sam Pang.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store