Allen Curnow was closely associated with Denis Glover's flagship publishing business, Caxton Press, and the group of writers around this project, including Charles Brasch, Walter D'Arcy Cresswell, A. R. D. Fairburn, R.A.K.

Elizabeth Curnow was friends with artists such as Leo Bensemann, Evelyn Page, Douglas MacDiarmid, and Rita Angus.

Wystan Curnow was educated at Takapuna Grammar School, and went on to complete a Masters of Arts in English with first-class honours at Auckland University College, graduating in 1961.

[5] Curnow has been based in Auckland since 1970, though has spent significant periods overseas, particularly in the United States and, most recently in 2010 undertook the Seresin Landfall Residency in Tuscany.

[citation needed] Curnow has written consistently on New Zealand post-object art and abstract painting from the 1970s onwards.

Throughout his career, he has written most regularly on the work of artists Colin McCahon, Max Gimblett, Lawrence Weiner, Len Lye, Billy Apple, and Imants Tillers.

[7] During the 1980s in particular, Curnow was also closely involved in small print run, so-called ‘little magazines’ where he published both poetry and art criticism.

These publications are characterised by an interest in the developing theory of postmodernism, gaining academic traction at this time and included Parallax (he was a contributing editor), AND, and Splash (he was co-editor).

[citation needed] In many of his writings, Curnow has sought to collapse the distinction between his art criticism and poetry, and sometimes these forms are indistinguishable from each other.

Curnow acted as a self-described 'public relations officer', as well as curator, administrator and collaborator, for Apple on his 1979 exhibition tour of nine galleries in New Zealand.