Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit
Let us praise
the small evasions:
the missed call
the slight sore throat,
the prior engagement … From ‘Little Fibs’
Fibs, porkies, little white lies, absolute whoppers and criminal evasions: the ways we can deceive each other are legion.
Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit, the new collection by Ōtepoti poet and writer Emma Neale, is fascinated by our doubleness. Prompted by the rich implications in a line from Joseph Brodsky — ‘The real history of consciousness starts with one’s first lie’ — it combines a personal memoir of childhood lies with an exploration of wider social deceptions.
From the unwitting tricks our minds play, to the mischievous pinch of subconscious imitation; from the corruptions of imperialism or abuse, to the dreams and stories we weave for our own survival, these poems catalogue scenes that seem to suggest our species could be named for its subterfuge as much as for its wisdom. Yet at the core of the collection are also some tenets to hold to: deep bonds of love; the renewal children offer; a hunger for social justice; and the sharp reality that nature presents us with, if we are willing to look.
Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit displays an exceptional ability to turn confessional anecdotes into quicksilvery flashes of insight. It’s a book about fibs and fables; and telling true stories which are perceived by others as tall stories; and the knock-on or flow-on effects of distrust, the scales dropping from one’s eyes. It’s about power and a sense of powerlessness; it’s about belief and the loss of belief, it’s about trust and disillusion; it’s about disenchantment with fairytales. It’s about compassion. Emma Neale is a writer fantastically sensitive to figurative language and its possibilities. There’s also scepticism, a sense of malaise and unease, but bolstered by a quick wit, liveliness and humour, where thought moves through the lines, arriving simultaneously with the word.
Judge’s report, Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2025
Reviews and Interviews
‘The 85 poems of Emma Neale’s seventh collection focus on the way we human beings can delude ourselves with lies or with mis-remembering. But while she shows how flawed we are, she also treasures the good in people and young children, perhaps with a spot of autobiography.’
New Zealand ListenerTop Poetry Books Of 2024: The Best NZ Verse
‘Her poems were personal — one took about 30 years to write — and it was a joy for her to see so many people connect with her work.’
Emma Neale speaks to Mark John about winning the 2025 Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for the Otago Daily Times Read
‘Emma Neale’s poetry is rich in connections, experience, visual and aural delights. Like many other poets, her ink is imbued with personal life, with a deep concern about the state of the planet, injustice, humanity. More than anything, Emma writes with heart, her words agile on the line, her poems lingering in the mind as you move though the day.’
Emma Neale reads from Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit for the NZ Poetry Shelf Summer Reading Series 2024 Listen
‘I liken these poems to those decadent liquor-filled chocolates that seem to proliferate around this time of year. You put one in your mouth and you think “Oh yeah, that’s a nice rich, dark chocolate” and then you suck or bite into it and you realise there’s this boozy centre, that sugary feeling that fills your mouth.’
Claudia Herz Jardine for Nine to Noon, RNZ Listen
‘When you enter a poem in this collection, you know where you are, understanding bewilderment without becoming bewildered yourself. Neale shows you in, shows you the shape of things, presenting the poem’s central figure – be it a well-tended rose or a serenade by Tchaikovsky – immediately, then exploring that conceit with satisfying thoroughness. We come to expect that Neale will show us, tenderly, what we need to understand: this is how it looks, how it sounds; this is the core of it’
Sophie van Waardenberg for Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books, Academy of New Zealand Literature Read
‘These engaging, empathetic poems remind us of our shared humanity, including our shared imperfections.’
Anuja Mitra for Kete Books Read
‘Being shortlisted alongside three other really amazing poets is already a rewarding experience because it’s made me read their work more closely, and when you’re reading the best of your contemporaries, it can only help lift your own work.’
Emma Neale speaks to Jeff Harford about being shortlisted for the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry on Write Spot, OAR FM with the Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature Listen
About the author
Emma Neale
Emma Neale is a novelist and poet. Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit is her seventh poetry collection, following To the Occupant (Otago University Press, 2019). Recognition for her work includes the 2008 NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Award for Literature and the 2011 Kathleen Grattan Award...
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To the Occupant 
Tender Machines 
The Truth Garden