Mrs Ruth Arnison, of Dunedin, QSM for services to poetry and literature
Ruth Arnison has led a number of literature-based projects that have contributed to Dunedin’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature. She is the inspiration and driving force for Lilliput Libraries, which are oversized letterboxes from which people are free to take or donate books. She is the editor and Chairperson of Poems in the Waiting Room (New Zealand), a national programme which distributes poetry cards in medical waiting rooms, hospices, rest homes, and prisons. Mrs Arnison’s project Poems on Steps is a joint programme with artist Sheryl McCammon and involves poetry installations in public places around Dunedin