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Author, teacher and poet, Serie Barford’s final collection of poems, Standing on My Shadow, negotiates her devastating journey with cancer. Long listed for the 2026 Ockham NZ Book Awards, I found it both humbling and compelling.
This moving book of poems deserves more than one reading. There is a lot to absorb. Encapsulating her walk with cancer, Barford’s personal journey is raw, powerful and moving. More than anything, it is courageous.
Of mixed Samoan–Palagi descent, her earlier book, Sleeping with Stones, is dedicated to her late partner who fell from a waterfall. Barford divulged that she had already seen her fair share of grief and loss.
Therefore, this collection of poems is brave (ironically) beyond words. Beginning with her visit to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine seems appropriate as nuclear medicine and surgery in Aotearoa had already revealed ‘biological bombs’ within Barford’s own body.
On returning home and starting therapy, her passage through treatment corridors, past memories and personal emotions are recorded with perceptivity. Each poem reaches into the soul, her spirituality evident throughout; her journey covers a raft of thoughts, reflections, emotions.
While it is explicitly her story, this collection also reveals the tricky path others similar to her are likely to confront as they negotiate hospital pathways to radiology, communal jigsaw puzzles, hospital gowns, waiting rooms and treatment clinics.
Yet, despite her harrowing journey, this literary treasure reveals moments of joy, beauty and balance. In particular, her poem Coconut Earrings must surely bring smiles and tears.
Now under hospice care, Barford’s holistic outlook on life and her fortitude provide a privileged glimpse at a remarkable woman whose works have been influenced by the natural world.
An Arts graduate from Auckland University, Barford trained as a secondary school teacher and worked both in schools and in community education.
Her poetry has been recorded for Aotearoa–New Zealand Sound Archives 2004. It was also captured by NZ film legend, Ian Mune (incidentally, a former Wesley College lad) for TVNZ documentary series, Artsville.
In addition, a number of her stories for children and adults have been recorded and aired on Radio NZ. The book includes a glossary of foreign words which will be helpful to readers.
Standing on my Shadow
Author: Serie Barford
Published: Anahera Press
RRP: $30
