Penumbra: Voices in shadow and light

Penumbra, the captivating debut poetry collection by Māhina Zoe Marshall, invites readers to explore the interplay of shadow and light in our lives, and in the natural world. Marshall blends traditional and contemporary poetic styles, creating verses rich with contrast, contradiction, and raw emotion. From ever-faithful doubt to incongruous hope, her words reflect on life's wounds, and its flawed yet undeniable beauty.

Through vivid imagery, Marshall brings nature to life with a poetic voice that celebrates the earth and her creatures. Birds take flight in her lines, 'casting cursive in the sky, each wingbeat a trail, ' trees whisper across moss soft lawns, and shifting, wild weather embodies the ephemeral and eternal 'forming like the clouds/scuppering, candle-bright'.
With spiritual and shamanic scope, her poems honour our ancestral inheritances and the enduring imprint of the past on the land.

Penumbra is a compilation of human struggle, love, and loss, weaving together themes of emotional depth, the natural world, our storied past, and the paradoxical pursuit of freedom. Perfect for readers who cherish nature, evocative language, and heartfelt introspection, this collection offers a poetic journey that resonates long after the final page.

Māhina Zoe Marshall is a poet, writer and mother from New Zealand. Previously a Historic House and Textile Collection Curator, she has a deep appreciation for the storied past. Now focusing on writing and her own creative pursuits, she sees poetry as a way to traverse time and connect to place - a healing tool that provides the space to express what is often unconscious. Māhina has a deep reverence for nature and the eternal spirit.