Selina Tusitala Marsh (Commonwealth Poet Laureate) and Peter Mackay (Scotland’s Makar) in Conversation

For the first time in 75 years the Commonwealth of Nations appointed a Poet Laureate in Selina Tusitala Marsh, the former Poet Laureate of New Zealand, who lives on the NZ island of Waiheke. Selina, who has Pasifika ancestral roots, was made Poet Laureate in 2025 by the Commonwealth Foundation, for the inaugural two year post. Her work as Laureate aims to use poetry to connect the 2.7 billion Commonwealth citizens throughout 56 nation states.

British Council New Zealand & the Pacific and British Council Scotland partnered to support Selina’s visit to Scotland for a curated programme of exhibitions, talks and performances produced by the Scottish Poetry Library and the Games Festival’s Watershed initiative. While in Scotland Selina recorded a podcast at the Scottish Poetry Library with Scotland’s Makar, Peter Mackay. She brought her official hand-carved New Zealand Laureate tokotoko stick with her, which accompanies her at all her public events. Selina and Peter’s wide-ranging conversation will be catnip for poetry lovers, an absolute joy to listen to, beginning with Selina reading her poem Tusitala, and where her middle name comes from. And yes the tokotoko stick is discussed!