Samuel Hunt, of Paparoa
Samuel Hunt received the Insignia of a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to poetry. Mr Hunt has continued to make a substantial contribution to New Zealand literature since he received a Queen’s Service Medal in 1986. He has continued publishing poetry, his latest work, Backroads, Charting a Poet’s Life, was released in 2009. His unconventional and distinctive delivery style, and his belief that poems are to be heard, has resulted in his continuing popularity as a performer throughout New Zealand. Through his colloquial and seemingly uncomplicated verse, he has almost single-handedly created a broad audience for poetry in New Zealand. Mr Hunt has performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and various groups and musicians both nationally and internationally.