“Leaving The Red Zone” — A Standing-Room-Only Book Launch

Yesterday evening I went to the launch of Leaving The Red Zone, an anthology of poetry edited by James Norcliffe and Joanna Preston, and published by Clerestory Press, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the February 22, 2011, earthquake that devastated much of my home city of Christchurch, killing 185 people and injuring many more.

The large venue (The Laboratory, in Lincoln) was filled to capacity, standing room only in truth—a sign, I believe, of the importance of this collection to th...