Kevin Ireland, award-winning Kiwi poet and writer, dies at 89: 'Going gently into the wild night'

Celebrated Kiwi writer Kevin Ireland has died aboriginal Friday greeting astatine 89-years-old.

Ireland, calved Kevin Jowsey, was taken into hospice attraction connected Thursday nighttime arsenic the award-winning writer’s wellness had been deteriorating for a fig of weeks from an assertive signifier of crab portion surviving astatine his Devonport home.

He died astir 1am arsenic a tempest raged done Auckland, his household confirmed to Stuff.

Ireland’s niece, Karen Blair, said his decease was a “fitting extremity for a poet, going mildly into the chaotic night”.

“The archetypal clip that I met him I’d moved into Sam’s [Ireland’s stepson] location successful Kingsland,” said Blair’s wife, Greg Smith.

“It was a Sunday, and Kevin and Caroline [Ireland’s 2nd wife] came astir ... Sam threw a barbecue, and Kev brought 4 oregon 5 bottles of wine, and proceeded to portion it – with assistance – and told the astir astonishing stories.

“I was conscionable enthralled with him, I wanted him to travel implicit each Sunday and archer stories ... He had a existent sensation for life.”

A protégé of Kiwi short-fiction writer Frank Sargeson, Ireland co-founded the literate mag Mate alongside playwright John Yelash successful 1957, wherever the pen sanction Ireland archetypal appeared successful the magazine’s 2nd variation successful 1958.

A twelvemonth later, Ireland travelled to England, and what was expected to beryllium an overseas travel lasting a twelvemonth oregon 2 turned into a 25-year enactment successful Europe, wherever Ireland mostly resided successful London, moving arsenic a sub-editor for The Times.

Ireland concisely lived successful Sofia, the superior of Bulgaria, wherever with the assistance of his then-wife Donna helium translated Bulgarian poesy to English.

Despite surviving abroad, Ireland continued to see himself a New Zealander, contributing to literate journals successful his location country, earlier returning successful 1984.

He published his archetypal poesy collection, Face to Face, successful 1963, and implicit the people of his vocation helium would spell connected to constitute 37 works of poetry, novels, and a abbreviated communicative collection.

In 2022, Ireland published his last enactment and 3rd memoir A Month In The Back of My Brain, which helium described arsenic “sweeping up each the reflective wrappers and the tinsel, and describing how, successful the mounting sun, they glitter with the superb romance of nostalgia”.

Outside of writing, Ireland was a keen fisher, vino connoisseur, and loving household man.

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire during the 1992 Queen’s Birthday Honours, and successful 2004, Ireland received the Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement for poetry.

Ireland is survived by his woman Janet Wilson, a salient Kiwi academic, stepsons Bill and Sam, and grandchildren Jack, Stanley, Matilda, and Annie.