Sam Hunt is our best-known performance poet and has published more than 14 collections of poetry, most recently Doubtless (2008). Born in Auckland in 1946, he has committed his life to writing and performing poetry, touring extensively throughout New Zealand's pubs, cafes, hotels, festivals, theatres, prisons and schools. He has read in the legislative chamber; performed in Australia, New York and Washington DC; featured with the NZSO and members of the group Split Enz; and made regular TV appearances. An annual literature competition at his alma mater St Peter's College is named after him. In 1975 Hunt was the Burns Fellow at the University of Otago and he was awarded a QSM in 1986 for his contribution to New Zealand poetry. Hunt was a friend of James K Baxter for many years.