Iain Sharp

Iain James Sharp (24 April 1953 – 24 January 2026) was a New Zealand poet and critic.

Life and career Born in Glasgow, Scotland on 24 April 1953, Sharp emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1961, where they settled in Auckland. He studied at the University of Auckland where he received a doctorate in English in 1982. His doctoral thesis was titled Wit at several weapons: a critical edition. Soon after completing his PhD, he qualified as a librarian from the New Zealand Library School.

Sharp worked part-time in the Special Collections Department of Auckland Central City Library, and was also a reviewer, critic and columnist for the New Zealand Listener magazine.

Sharp died on 24 January 2026.

Works Why Mammals Shiver, Auckland: One Eyed Press, 1981 She Is Trying to Kidnap the Blind Person, Auckland: Hard Echo Press, 1985 The Pierrot Variations, Auckland: Hard Echo Press, 1985 Two Poets: Selections from the Work of Suzanne Chapman and Iain Sharp, edited by Suzanne Chapman, Auckland: Auckland English Association, 1985 The Singing Harp, Paekakariki: Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, 2004 Mahones: Four Poets (with Bill Dacker, Michael O'Leary and Mark Pirie), Paekakariki: Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, 2005 Real Gold: treasures of Auckland City Libraries, text by Iain Sharp; photographs by Haruhiko Sameshima, Auckland University Press, 2007 Our Favourite Poems: New Zealanders choose their best-loved poems, introduction by Iain Sharp, Craig Potton Publishing, 2007, Heaphy: Explorer, Artist, Settler, Auckland University Press, 2008 Sharing Our Ghosts, Poems by Joy MacKenzie & Iain Sharp, Auckland: Cumberland Press, 2011