about

Ron Riddell was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He is an Arts graduate of Auckland University, he worked for many years as a school teacher. In recent years, he has been travelling and working in the Americas. Riddell has performed in a number of countries, including Canada, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, the U.K. and the U.S.A. where his book Leaves of Light was published in a bilingual edition (English and Spanish) in 2005. Riddell has performed his work in many festivals and cultural venues around the world, including The Edinburgh Festival, Harbourfront (Canada), El Festival Internacional de Poesía de Medellín (Colombia) and El Festival Internacional de Poesía de Cartagena (Colombia), El Festival Internacional de Poesía de Bogota (Colombia), The Austin International Poetry Festival (U.S.A.) and El Encuentro Internacional de Poetas (El Salvador), El Festival Internacional de Poesía de Costa Rica, ChilePoesia, Santiago de Chile. He has also been involved in a number of peace and cultural initiatives in Colombia, Chile, El Salvador, the U.S.A. and New Zealand. In Auckland in the 1970s Riddell founded The Titirangi Poets and later in the 1990s established a haven for poets with the Live Poets’ Café which adjoined the Dead Poets Bookshop in Karangahape Road. In Wellington he founded The Wellington International Poetry festival. In 2004 he was a finalist in The Wellingtonian of the Year Awards. A painter, musician and the author of a number of plays and novels, he has published twenty-one collections of verse. His verse collection Leaves of Light was awarded The House of Poetry International Poetry Award for 2005. His latest verse collection is entitled The Oracle of Alexandria (2009) and his most recent novel, A Love Beyond (2010). At present, he lives between New Zealand and Colombia. Whilst better known as a poet, he now divides his writing time between fiction and poetry.