BOOKS​

SYMPHONY OF QUEER ERRANDS

A book-length narrative poem.

Following a charming but awkward composer as they strive to create the titular symphony, we meet a strange and compelling ensemble cast of musicians and instruments who come together to bring the work to life.

Published by Tender Press, 20 February 2025

“Symphony of Queer Errands gave me one of the nutsest reading experiences I’ve ever had. It’s dreamlike, but way cleverer and more crackup than a dream. And shot through with stunning bolts of reality. Gift yourself disturbance and read it! It’s fully actually unlike anything else.” – Freya Daly Sadgrove

“Rachel O’Neill’s Symphony of Queer Errands is a riot rather than a lament, a ‘tiny lustrous inferno’, a ‘series of brazen ecstasies’ sounded through a panoply of gay (joyous, queer) instruments. Braiding absurdity, humour and beauty into an erotic composition reminiscent of the work of Anne Carson (the highest compliment I can offer), this book is an exquisite incantation, gloriously prickling with love.” – Amy Brown

Reviews

“… by the end of the book, the symphony has encompassed everything and become a force unto itself. It feels like everything prior has been leading up to this point. The characters and the instruments dissolve to perform their function, and as a reader, you sort of dissolve too. In this sense, the symphony mimics experiencing joy—to be swept up, and lose sense of time, place, self. In joy there is only the present moment; in queer joy, there is only the symphony.”

– Hebe Kearney, Bad Apple

“It’s a delicious thing O’Neill prompts us to contemplate: that music is not something to be dictated to its players or forced upon its listeners. Perhaps, rather than a fixed artifact, it’s something alive and sensitive—something that absorbs the moods and intentions of those involved in each stage of its creation. It is changed through collaboration, and each time it is played and heard, it is utterly unique.”

– Sophie van Waardenberg, Tākahe 113

“Symphony of Queer Errands is a sensory prickling, heart-and-idea stirring, body rippling, queer read, and I absolutely adore it.”

– Paula Green, NZ Poetry Shelf

“For its originality, defiance of convention and articulation of queer concerns, Rachel O’Neill’s Symphony of Queer Errands deserves rapturous applause.”

– Siobhan Harvey, Landfall Review Online

Interview

‘The intersections between poetry and music’

What’s been the best part of writing and releasing Symphony of Queer Errands?

As the book explores the intersections between poetry and music, a real highlight has been collaborating with local musicians, composers and artists. In May last year, friend and musician Andy Hummel invited me to open at his gig, prompting me to hold a listening party. Over the last few years I’ve been recording sounds in my immediate environment and then making sound design works that go on to seed various forms of poetry. Writing through sound enables me to unlock potent emotions and memories alongside the usual balance I aim to strike between matter-of-fact tone and surreal situations. At the gig I shared sound works and poems inspired by the process, including a ‘Prelude’ from the new book.

It’s also been a privilege working with composer Lucky Pollock. They premiered a piece at the book launch inspired by an invented instrument in Symphony of Queer Errands called The Hard Soft Revolt, a piano forte made of parts in revolution, the strings guillotined rather than plucked or hammered. Lucky, a classically trained pianist, reprogrammed a keyboard with synths and metallic samples. They played Chopin’s Étude Op. 10, No. 3, in E major. It was beautifully bombastic!

Read the full interview at Kete Books

Sian Torrington, host of Quilted Bananas Radio in Wellington, talks to Rachel O’Neill about Symphony of Queer Errands

– Listen here, Femme Rants, Access Radio

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REQUIEM FOR A FRUIT

Second book of poems. 

Published by Tender Press (formerly We Are Babies Press), 08 December 2021

  • Interview with Theo Macdonald for 95bFM Artbank about Requiem for a Fruit, December 2021. Listen here.
  • Book Critic with Pip Adam, discussion of Requiem for a Fruit on RNZ Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan, December 2021. Listen here.
  • ‘2021 Sucked but There Were Still Unforgettable Moments’, The Pantograph Punch editors’ highlights. Read here.
  • Requiem for a Fruit on Goodreads.

Reviews

“…magnificent. Electrifying. I recommend it highly.” – Paula Green, NZ Poetry Shelf

Theo Macdonald review of Requiem for a Fruit Metro 434 final panel

Illustrated review (excerpt above) by Theo Macdonald, MetroMagazine 434

Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2023

“For this poet, what can be understood about life seems kind of slippery. They’re constantly peering at the undersides of existence. They question accepted explanations and point out humour where other poets might write angst-filled sonnets. That’s not to say that anxiety is dismissed; rather, it’s sort of loved into another existence.” – Abigail Marshall, Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2023

Commentary

“Rachel O’Neill’s newly released Requiem for a Fruit (We Are Babies Press) shares something of the surreal spirit of prose poetry maestro Charles Simic: its poems will rearrange your brain.”

– Chris Price for NZ Poetry Shelf

“Requiem for a Fruit (We Are Babies) is Rachel O’Neill’s delightfully offbeat second collection that I just can’t get enough of. Weird, but never alienating, the poems in Rachel’s book are populated with characters who confront the strangeness of daily life and give in to the curious ideas and thoughts we often attempt to suppress. Proof that they are without a doubt one of Aotearoa’s most unique writers.”

– Chris Tse for NZ Poetry Shelf

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ONE HUMAN IN HEIGHT

Published by ​Hue​ ​&​ ​Cry​ ​Press in 2013

reviews

onehuman_ehcover

‘…The​ ​balance​ ​between​ ​the​ ​matter-of-fact​ ​tone,​ ​the​ ​surreal​ ​situation​ ​and​ ​the​ ​yearning​ ​for human​ ​contact​ ​is​ ​stunning​ ​…​ ​O’Neill’s​ ​tongue​ ​sings,​ ​her​ ​eye​ ​is​ ​objective,​ ​her​ ​heart compassionate.’​ ​​-​ ​NZ​ ​Listener

‘I​ ​think​ ​this​ ​a​ ​magnificent​ ​piece​ ​of​ ​writing…’​ ​​Gregory​ ​O’Brien,​ ​Saturday​ ​Morning,​ ​Radio​ ​NZ

‘Unarmed​ ​is​ ​the​ ​perfect​ ​word​ ​to​ ​sum​ ​up​ ​the​ ​sensation​ ​generated​ ​by​ ​reading​ ​Rachel​ ​O’Neill’s clever,​ ​thought-provoking​ ​first​ ​book.’​ ​​-​ ​Siobhan​ ​Harvey,​ ​Beattie’s​ ​Book​ ​Blog

‘This​ ​is​ ​a​ ​glorious​ ​debut.​ ​These​ ​poems​ ​show​ ​the​ ​way​ ​you​ ​can​ ​hold​ ​any​ ​occasion,​ ​object, person​ ​or​ ​place​ ​in​ ​your​ ​mind​ ​and,​ ​like​ ​a​ ​prism,​ ​watch​ ​it​ ​shimmer​ ​and​ ​shine​ ​with​ ​little​ ​stories that​ ​hook​ ​tufts​ ​of​ ​truth​ ​and​ ​fabrication,​ ​self​ ​and​ ​knowing,​ ​illusions​ ​and​ ​strange​ ​kinks,​ ​and everyday​ ​bric-a-brac.​ ​I​ ​am​ ​in​ ​love​ ​with​ ​this​ ​book.’​ ​​ -​​ ​ ​Paula​ ​Green

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