Amy Leigh Wicks

While Amy's poems explored identity and place, her critical thesis focused on J.K. Baxter and how to write with authenticity as a poet.

PhD awarded 2018

Image of Amy Leigh Wicks. (Photo credit Dr John Bognar)
Amy Leigh Wicks. (Photo credit Dr John Bognar.)
Amy Leigh Wicks is a poet, playwright, actress, and director. She is the author of The Dangerous Country of Love and Marriage (Auckland University Press, 2019) and Orange Juice and Rooftops (Eloquent Books, 2009). Her poetry has appeared in publications including The Best American Poetry, Turbine | Kapohau, SPORT, and drDOCTOR. Recent theatre work includes writing, performing, and directing new stage work in Northern California. Performances, interviews, and public discussions include Radio New Zealand's Standing Room Only, Makers & Mystics podcast and The Artist Well's A Taste of Shakespeare. Amy Leigh earned her MFA from The New School in NYC and completed doctoral studies at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington's International Institute of Modern Letters.

Amy Leigh writes: 'My thesis "Confessional Transcendence: A Contemporary Mode of Poetic Creation", focused on the intersection of Confessional poetry of the 1960s and the Transcendental movement of the early 19th century; arguing that James K. Baxter's poetry epitomized this unlikely shared space. My findings were presented in a critical confessional mode, tracing personal literary and spiritual history (where they intersected), and shifting to register the profound effect of my engagement with New Zealand poet James K. Baxter. The creative component of my thesis applied the principles of "Confessional Transcendence" to a collection of poetry that found its home with Auckland University Press as The Dangerous Country of Love and Marriage.'

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