It consisted of just four words ("malady", "melody" and "my lady") arranged in patterns on the page, accompanied by drawings by artist Ralph Hotere, who had met Manhire in Dunedin while he was the Frances Hodgkins Fellow.

[4][8] Manhire's second book, The Elaboration (1972), was also a collaboration with Hotere, and was published by Charles Brasch and Janet Paul.

[4] Around this time, and while living in London, Manhire and fellow poet Kevin Cunningham set up the Amphedesma Press to publish their own and their friends' work, including poetry books by Ian Wedde and Bob Orr.

[2] From 2001 to 2013 he was the inaugural and founding director of the International Institute of Modern Letters, which offers an MA and Ph.D. in creative writing, as well as a range of specialised undergraduate workshops.

In 2016 the institute's building was named the Bill Manhire House in recognition of his contribution to the university and to New Zealand literature.

[10] His successor Damien Wilkins said on the occasion that Manhire's name "is synonymous with creative writing at Victoria".

[2][8] Critic Iain Sharp writes that Manhire's reputation "rests on a solid, seriously intentioned body of work, notable for its oblique lyricism and sense of wonder at the strangeness of both life and language".

[8] After his fifth book of poetry, Good Looks (1982), Manhire for a time switched to writing prose, publishing The Brain of Katherine Mansfield (1988), a book in the style of the Choose Your Own Adventure series with illustrations by Gregory O'Brien, and The New Land (1990), a collection of satirical short stories.

[19] To mark his 60th birthday in 2006, Victoria University Press and Sport published the limited edition Manhire at 60: A Book for Bill.

The book featured essays, poems, stories and other written work from over 40 writers who had been inspired by Manhire.

His work with Meehan and Griffin has resulted in a range of music publications with lyrics or words by Manhire, including Buddhist Rain (2010) and These Rough Notes (2012).