the time [is] ripe
he had been dreaming about this for a long time1
if, somewhere or other,2
under ideal conditions,3
a completely new town were to be built,4
the possibilities5
are surely imagination-stirring6
a challenge to progressively-minded people7
[for]
in what manner shall these towns evolve?8
Shall their development, as in the past, be entrusted9
to self-seeking ordinated, socially blind forces?10
Or [will] they be deliberately and consciously planned11
with the / objective of creating a new type of human community12
[where]
the fullest opportunity will be given to all citizens13
Now that the time had actually arrived14
to replace encouraging words15
[with]
specific constructive acts, it seemed as though they had become stricken16
a timid fear17
half-hearted belief18
paralysis19
one must not be surprised if failure is met20
that a bold experiment / might lose21
the time [is] ripe22
I [am] particularly anxious23
William Lewis Robertson was an activist for the co-operative movement in 1940s New Zealand, a movement which promoted consumer-owned and operated retail. In 1945, Robertson was employed by the first Labour government to assist in planning community centres for the state housing developments that were taking shape in Lower Hutt (Naenae, Epuni, Taitā). Robertson’s vision for this scheme would include co-operative supermarkets, health centres, recreational facilities and more, plans designed with the help of architect Ernst Plischke. At the onset of the Cold War, with changing political tides, the first Labour government would abandon these bold experiments in community planning. In response, Robertson would pen his Final Statement (1950) and shortly thereafter take his own life.
BIOGRAPHY
Ardit Hoxha is an artist and writer based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Hoxha has a BFA with first-class honours from Elam School of Fine Arts, alongside a BA in media and anthropology from the University of Auckland. He recently completed a master’s degree in sociology at the University of Auckland. Hoxha presented a text-based billboard work titled lost dream[s] at Te Tuhi. The research from which forms the base of the poem the time [is] ripe at Artspace Aotearoa. In 2022, Hoxha was a recipient of a Samoa House Library research grant and developed a radio play for the Centre of Narrative Practice as part of Manifesta 14 in Prishtina, Kosovo.