David Eggleton is of European, Tongan and Rotuman descent, growing up between Auckland and Fiji. He was the New Zealand Poet Laureate 2019–2022. His first collection of poems, South Pacific Sunrise, was co-winner of the PEN Best First Book of Poetry Award in 1987. His seventh collection of poems, The Conch Trumpet, won the 2016 Ockham New Zealand Book Award for Poetry. His most recent collection is The Wilder Years (2021) and a new collection, XX, is forthcoming in 2023. In 2016 David received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Poetry. As well as his poetry, Eggleton writes extensively on New Zealand art and music. He is a past editor of Landfall (2011-2018) and an acclaimed literary reviewer, having been awarded the New Zealand Reviewer of the Year title six times. David lives in Ōtepoti Dunedin.
