Jason, who is also the Waimakariri Libraries learning connections co›ordinator, won the Writing Contest in English Award for his poem Viva La Vida at the event, which was held in Ecuador last October.
He received two other awards at the event, a Distinguished Visitor to the city of Bah›a de Caraquez Award from the Mayor Ingrid Zambrano, and a Participation Award for representing New Zealand.
It was also a ‘‘great honour’’ to be elected by the executive board of the World Congress of Poets to become a board member, representing New Zealand.
Jason, whose pseudonym is Doc Drumheller, has worked in award winning groups for theatre and music and has published 11 collections of poetry.
His poems are translated into more than 20 languages, and he is the editor and publisher of the New Zealand literary journal Catalyst.
His latest collection is: Drinking With Li Bai, 100 Haiku from China and India, and was published by Cold Hub Press in 2022.
His new role on the World Congress of Poets board of directors will enable him to continue providing publishing and performance opportunities for poets in New Zealand.
‘‘I believe in the World Congress of Poets' mission of `World Brotherhood and Peace Through Poetry',’’ he says.
‘‘I will make it my mission to utilise this honour to continue to feature international poets in the Catalyst literary journal, to introduce New Zealand readers to poetry from around the world.
‘‘I am currently working on an anthology of poetry that will feature poets from New Zealand and Spain, to be translated into Spanish and Te Reo Ma ¯ori and there will be many more opportunities for me as an editor to connect with other editors and publishers to feature New Zealand poetry overseas.’’
Jason is also hoping to host a World Congress of Poets in New Zealand and discussions about that have already begun.
The 41st World Congress of Poets was attended by 100 participants from Ecuador, China, Germany, Canada, New Zealand, Hungary, Spain, Israel, Colombia, Bolivia, India and Mexico. The event was chaired by Dr Rosal›a Arteaga, a writer and lawyer who, as a politician, became Ecuador’s first female president in 1997.
