The Death Of Music Journalism

Simon Sweetman – blogger, reviewer, podcaster, and author of On Song: Stories Behind New Zealand's Pop Classics, releases his first poetry collection, The Death of Music Journalism.

Simon has been writing poems since he first started listening to bands on his Walkman. He then began sharing them via social media and open mic nights. Word got around, and he became a sleeper hit at LitCrawl's Lit-Sync For Your Life and the 2020 Variety for Fierys.

Marking a pivot from the razor-sharp and sometimes controversial music writing he is best known for, Simon's collection is as wide-ranging as his career to date. He writes about late-night encounters on the phone with rock stars, hanging out as a student in Wellington flats, the simplicity of time spent with family, and the unpredictable life of a freelance music reviewer, exploring what happens when these things occasionally intersect.

A natural storyteller whose poetry is filled with characters both famous and ordinary, this eagerly awaited collection is unpredictable, anarchic, playful, and surprisingly heartfelt.