New Zealand Writers
MILA, Karlo
A dynamic poetic meditation on friendship, family and love
Karlo Mila (1974 – ) is a poet. Born in Rotorua, Mila is of Tongan, Palagi and Samoan descent. Mila was educated at Massey University and has worked as a trade union organiser, teacher and health research manager.
Her first collection of poetry, Dream Fish Floating (Huia, 2005), won the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry at the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Mila says that her poetry is both personal and political, reflecting ‘issues of the Pacific diaspora and navigating the tensions between traditional cultures and urban Aotearoa-Pacific realities.’
Writing about Dream Fish Floating in their report for the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, the judges said that: ‘Karlo Mila writes with flair, energy and passion, creating a direct, accessible poetry. This multi-cultural, lyrical voice is one the judges expect to hear a lot more of.’
Mila has had work anthologised in Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English (Auckland University Press, 2003), and Short Fuse: The Global Anthology of New Fusion Poetry (Rattapallax Press, 2002). She has had poems selected for Best New Zealand Poems in 2003, 2005 and 2006 (see link below to read).
Karlo Mila lives in Auckland.
(KM)
Updated Information
Mila has recently published A Well Written Body (Huia, 2008), in collaboration with german-born artist Delicia Sampero. This publication is a ' multidimensional conversation of images and imaginings between two women, crossing art forms and cultures' (Huia press release).
Writers in Schools
Karlo Mila is able to visit secondary schools as part of the Writers in Schools programme.
