C. K. Stead is a towering figure in New Zealand literature, having gained international acclaim as a novelist, poet, critic, and essayist. He is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Auckland, where he has taught for more than 20 years, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Winner of numerous awards and honors--such as the prestigious CNZ Michael King Fellowship in 2005--he is the author of many works, including Book Self, Collected Poems: 1951-2006, The New Poetic, and Smith's Dream.