Wild Dogs Under My Skirt

Tusiata Avia's first collection of poetry Wild Dogs Under My Skirt draws on two different cultures, and charts the sometimes painful points of their intersection. These poems are both confrontational and entertaining, raw and lyrical; they occupy legend and history ("we are direct descendants of flesh-eaters") yet break through into an urban landscape that is just as arresting and richly patterned. Avia's poetry is alive with the energy and rhythm of performance poetry and of an oral tradition, but it also stakes out a unique physical life on the page, reshaping our language and our understanding of New Zealand culture.