“In ‘Poor Richard’ W. H. Oliver writes about ‘King Dick’ and the failure of a New Zealand tradition. ‘Dear kanga’ uses familiar characters eccentrically to mock social attitudes. A group of more personal poems records a journey – and ‘something of loss’. This is a collection of unusual versatility and perception.

“W. H. Oliver is professor of history at Massey University. He is the author of The Story of New Zealand (1960) and editor of The Oxford History of New Zealand (1981). Poor Richard is his third book of verse.” —the volume’s blurb, which appeared on the inside front cover