In Issue Two, the dampness of the air and earth pushes deep personal mythologies forward, reclaiming traits of fire to create an otherworldly warmth.

These poets’ words seem to have emerged from the inflection of a question, from attempts at home-making, from the feeling of last days, from the splitting of earth and skin.

We’re circling an apocalypse. The mess made by oligarchical figures of past and present has accumulated and the pipes can’t hold it all together. We will have to face our shit…

     ruru and cop sirens are orbiting

                 a rented disco ball while the

                               public sun turns serpentine 

                                       limbs shirtless and reddening

                                                     and myth bleeds into art 

                                                           and piss-stained air fertilises a

                                                                           while the rotting seaweed 

                                                                                     gives supernatural powers 

                                                                                                to the broken traffic lights…

and Nine Live Issue Two is nestled within it all – nine poets prying open their skin to reveal subterranean landscapes where they dance along the rim of moonlit toilet bowls. 

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This journal was built upon the grace and support of Aotearoa’s creative community. 

We are grateful to all those who submitted poetry, and were deeply warmed by the sheer volume of submissions. It takes a lot of faith to welcome a stranger's eyes upon your writing, and we are grateful to have held every story offered to us. The talent, engagement, and sensitivity in each poem submitted prompted months of conversation – your words made us laugh, cry, snort, sigh, and breathe. Thank you for your trust.

To the nine brilliant lives of Issue Two: we feel honoured to be watering the soil that your words have grown from. Thank you to Perena Quinlivan, Keira Batten Coogan, Githara Gunawardena, Jamie R H, Zac Hing, Pia Thompson, June Ha, m. paea, and Stella Cheersmith.

Thank you to our talented cover artist Nyah Mar for creating the landscape these poems reside within. 

Thank you to our brand designer SOONBOMB for providing the stars that watch over these pages. 

Finally we extend a huge mihi to Enjoy Contemporary Art Space for hosting our Issue Two launch.

- Holly, Kieran, Mauatua