Nine To Noon Book review: The Ballad of Joe Taihape by Glenn Colquhoun
Mar 23, 2026
Sally Batson, bookseller and reviewer from The Next Chapter Bookshop in Wanaka, gives a lively take on Glenn Colquhoun’s The Ballad of Joe Taihape. She highlights its narrative‑poetry format, graphic‑novel visuals and satirical threads about race and colonisation. She notes the theatrical, musical quality and wonders who Joe Taihape might really be.
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Poem As Theatre With Graphic Novel Art
- Glenn Colquhoun's The Ballad of Joe Taihape is a narrative poem that blends poetry with theatrical elements and graphic-novel style art.
- Sally Batson highlights six artists (Nigel Brown, Matt Tate, Diana Gunn, Tim Bollinger, Lucy de Young Hakaraya and Sophie Watson) whose distinct illustrations punctuate each episode.
Satire Tackles Colonisation With Humor
- The collection uses satire to address race, prejudice and colonisation while remaining entertaining and humorous.
- Sally notes the poems make you think and sigh, yet they're full of fun and make you smile.
Joe's Mythic New Zealand Adventures
- The five episodes take Joe through comic mythic scenarios: assisting Jesus down Great South Road, sailing with Cook to sell tiki and kiwifruit, a wreath of sonnets on the storming of Chunuk Bair, a Jason parody, and a Muriwai-like underworld.
- Sally lists recognisable New Zealand icons and scenes including McCann, Mansfield, Wharlap, Aunt Daisy and Muriwai Beach to show its local flavour.
