Jessica Le Bas

Jessica Le Bas is a poet who lives in Nikao, Rarotonga, where her work takes her into Pa Enua, the outer islands of the Cook Islands. She was nominated and won the Sarah Broom Poetry Prize in 2019. Her poetry comes from her experiences living in what she describes as 'the cultural wealth and wisdom show more of the extraordinary people of the Cook Islands'. Le Bas¿s first collection of poetry, incognito (Auckland University Press, 2007), won the Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award, and her second Walking to Africa (Auckland University Press, 2009), was a finalist in the Ashton Wylie Book Awards. The Sarah Broom Poetry Prize was established to celebrate the life and work of Sarah Broom (1972-2013), author of Tigers at Awhitu and Gleam. It has run for six years in partnership with the Auckland Writers Festival, working to showcase and celebrate New Zealand poetry. (Bowker Author Biography) show less