How did Ian Wedde expand the style of New Zealand poetry?

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New Zealand literature Front cover of the Spiral Press first edition of Keri Hulme's *The Bone People* (1983).

Ian Wedde was a prominent figure in New Zealand literature who emerged during the 1970s and 1980s. He helped shift the focus of local poetry away from traditional British models toward American influences, including Modernism and postmodernism.1

Wedde expanded the stylistic range of New Zealand poetry through his formal inventiveness, high energy, and a distinct charm in his application of spoken language within his verse. His work, alongside that of contemporaries like Bill Manhire, represented a departure from the more formal or nationalist styles that had previously dominated the literary landscape.1