Tracey Slaughter's memories of suburbs in the Seventies

Macrame pot plant holders, Tupperware, cork tiles and corduroy beanbags, and the yearning soundtrack provided by the Carpenters. In Tracey Slaughter's poetry collection Conventional Weapons the surfaces and sensations of the suburbs of the 70s come through red hot. These are poems charged with the electrical thrill of sexual and romantic awakening. Mark Amery talks to Tracey about her first book since her celebrated collection of short stories Deleted Scenes for Lovers. The eyecatching cover for the book is by photographer Paul Alsop. Conventional Weapons is published by Victoria University Press, for whom congratulations are in order. Another of their writers, Helen Heath's book Are Friends Electric? has taken out the Ockham NZ Book Award poetry award, while another VUP poet Tayi Tibble received the Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award Conventional Weapons is available online and at all good bookshops.