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Rachel Bush

{{Short description|New Zealand poet (1941–2016)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox author

| name = Rachel Bush

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1941|12|26}}

| birth_place = Christchurch, New Zealand

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2016|3|23|1941|12|26}}

| death_place = Nelson, New Zealand

| spouse = Richard Nunns

| occupation = Writer

}}

Rachel Bush (26 December 1941 — 23 March 2016) was a New Zealand poet and teacher. Her work was widely published in books, anthologies and literary magazines.

Biography

Bush was born in 1941 in Christchurch{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/80319909/review-thought-horses-rachel-bush|title=Review: Thought Horses, Rachel Bush|last=Green|first=Paula|date=24 May 2016|website=Stuff |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} and grew up in Hāwera.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/lifestyle-entertainment/arts/5960599/Not-such-pretty-studies-in-actions-and-emotion|title=Not such pretty studies in actions and emotion|last=Arnold|first=Naomi|date=14 November 2011|website=Stuff |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} She taught English at Nelson College for Girls until 2003.{{Cite web|url=https://www.read-nz.org/writer/bush-rachel/|title=Bush, Rachel|last=|first=|date=January 2017|website=Read NZ Te Pou Muramura|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}

She was a member of the first MA course in creative writing run by Bill Manhire at Victoria University of Wellington in 1996{{Cite web|url=https://nzpoetryshelf.com/2016/04/04/louise-wrightson-farewells-rachel-bush/|title=Louise Wrightson farewells Rachel Bush|last=Wrightson|first=Louise|date=April 2016|website=NZ Poetry Shelf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} and her first book of poetry, The Hungry Woman, was based on work written during that course. Her work was published in Best New Zealand Poems{{Cite web|url=https://www.bestnewzealandpoems.org.nz/past-issues/2002-contents/rachel-bush/|title=The Strong Mothers|last=Bush|first=Rachel|date=2002|website=Best New Zealand Poems|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bestnewzealandpoems.org.nz/past-issues/2016-contents/rachel-bush/|title=All my feelings would have been of common things|last=Bush|first=Rachel|date=2016|website=Best New Zealand Poems|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} and in 4th Floor Literary Journal{{Cite web|url=https://4thfloorjournal.co.nz/past-issues/contributors-2014/|title=Contributors 2014|last=|first=|date=2014|website=4th Floor Literary Journal|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} as well as on online poetry blogs{{Cite web|url=http://tuesdaypoem.blogspot.com/2012/05/kiss-by-rachel-bush.html|title=Kiss|last=Bush|first=Rachel|date=22 May 2012|website=Tuesday Poem|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} and in journals including Sport, Landfall, Turbine{{Cite web|url=http://turbinekapohau.org.nz/archive-issues/2010-contents/poetry-rachel-bush/|title=Sing Them|last=Bush|first=Rachel|date=2010|website=Turbine Kapohau|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} and Faber's Introduction.

In 2004, she was poet in residence at Wellington Hospital as part of the Poets in Workplaces Scheme.{{Cite web|url=https://corpus.nz/nurses-and-poetry/|title=Nurses and poetry|last=Ritchie|first=Lorraine|date=31 October 2016|website=Corpus|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} The resulting poems were published as a booklet by the Wai-te-ata Press in 2006, accompanied by photographs taken in the Neonatal Unit by Alan Knowles.{{Cite web|url=https://corpus.nz/ink-under-the-fingernails/|title=Ink under the doctor's fingernails|last=Holmes|first=John|date=6 June 2016|website=Corpus|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} One of her poems, "Cicadas", was set to music by Gillian Whitehead, having been commissioned by harpist Helen Webby (with funding from Creative New Zealand).{{Cite web|url=https://sounz.org.nz/works/21877?locale=en|title=Cicadas for soprano and harp|last=|first=|date=2012|website=SOUNZ|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.harp.co.nz/gillian_whitehead_cicadas.asp|title=Gillian Whitehead: Cicadas; Text: Rachel Bush|last=|first=|date=|website=Helen Webby|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://gurglewords.wordpress.com/tag/rachel-bush/|title=Tuesday Poem – Cicadas by Rachel Bush – In her memory|last=McKinlay|first=Helen|date=16 May 2016|website=Gurglewords|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}

Bush was married to musician Richard Nunns and had two daughters and five grandchildren. She died on 23 March 2016, a month before the publication of Thought Horses, although a copy of the book was ready in time for her to see it.{{Cite web|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/author/rachel-bush/|title=Rachel Bush|last=|first=|date=24 March 2016|website=The Spinoff |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://nzpoetryshelf.com/2016/03/24/farewell-rachel-bush-beloved-poet/|title=Farewell Rachel Bush, beloved poet|last=Green|first=Paula|date=24 March 2016|website=NZ Poetry Shelf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://authors.org.nz/event/thought-horses-rachel-bush/|title=Thought Horses – Rachel Bush|last=|first=|date=19 April 2016|website=NZSA The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}} Thought Horses was posthumously longlisted for the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards/2017-awards/longlist/|title=2017 Awards Longlist|last=|first=|date=|website=NZ Book Awards|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}

Bibliography 

  • The Hungry Woman (Victoria University Press, 1997)
  • The Unfortunate Singer (Victoria University Press, 2002){{Cite web|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=3002372|title=Rachel Bush: The Unfortunate Singer|last=Bieder|first=Penelope|date=3 November 2002|website=The New Zealand Herald |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}
  • All patients report here, with photos by Alan Knowles (Wai-te-ata Press, 2006)
  • Nice Pretty Things (Victoria University Press, 2011){{Cite web|url=https://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/books/poetry-3|title=Poetry|last=Wyatt|first=Hamesh|date=5 November 2011|website=Otago Daily Times |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.noted.co.nz/archive/archive-listener-nz-2012/nice-pretty-things-by-rachel-bush-this-city-by-jennifer-compton-the-same-as-yes-by-joan-fleming-and-shift-by-rhian-gallagher-review|title=Nice Pretty Things by Rachel Bush, This City by Jennifer Compton, The Same as Yes by Joan Fleming and Shift by Rhian Gallagher review|last=Neale|first=Emma|date=22 March 2012|website=New Zealand Listener|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pantograph-punch.com/post/five-collections|title=Five poetry collections you've never read (or should again)|last=Barnett|first=Sarah Jane|date=23 August 2017|website=The Pantograph Punch|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://landfallreview.com/particular-tongues/|title=Particular Tongues|last=Fell|first=Cliff|date=1 May 2012|website=Landfall Review Online|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}            
  • Thought Horses (Victoria University Press, 2016){{Cite web|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201808516/poetry-with-gregory-o'brien-rachel-bush-and-michael-jackson|title=Poetry with Gregory O'Brien: Rachel Bush and Michael Jackson|last=|first=|date=16 July 2016|website=RNZ |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=5 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.takahe.org.nz/t87/reviews/rachel-bush-thought-horses/|title=Rachel Bush - Thought Horses|last=Macassey|first=Olivia|date=August 2016|website=takahē magazine|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}   

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • Profile of [https://www.read-nz.org/writer/bush-rachel/ Rachel Bush] on Read NZ Te Pou Muramura website
  • Listen to [https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/modernletters/bnzp/2002/bush.htm 'The Strong Mothers' by Rachel Bush], Best New Zealand Poems 2002
  • Works by [http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/name-202174.html Rachel Bush] in NZETC Collection

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Rachel}}

Category:1941 births

Category:2016 deaths

Category:20th-century New Zealand women writers

Category:21st-century New Zealand women writers

Category:20th-century New Zealand poets

Category:21st-century New Zealand poets

Category:New Zealand women poets

Category:Writers from Christchurch

Category:People from Hāwera

Category:Victoria University of Wellington alumni