New Zealand Literature

[waalkwriter]

Contrary to what Kiwi's try to claim, there is civilization in New Zealand, (now whether or not they can act is another matter ).

Why the works of the poet James Baxter alone would make a fine, fine, literary canon:

Alone we are born
and die alone
Yet see the red-gold cirrus
over snow-mountain shine
upon the upland road
ride easy stranger
Surrender to the sky
your heart of anger.
-James Baxter


Dear Sam, this day as I came down
The steps that take me into town,
Rehearsing in my head these rhymes
That hold a mirror to the times,
A perfect omen crossed my track,
A garbage-eater, wild and black,
Pugnacious, paranoid and sly,
A tomcat with a boxer’s eye
Dripping a gum of yellow pus,
I thought that he resembled us
-Baxter

A democratic people have elected
King Log, King Stork, King Log, King Stork again.
Because I like a wide and silent pond
I voted Log. That party was defeated.
-From Election 1960

I really must buy myself some of his collected poems. I worry though because I don't like Baxter's denser, more preachy religious poetry, especially the stuff he started writing later in his life.

Anyway, he's pretty much the extent of my familiarity with Kiwi Literature. Perhaps some people, like Refus, could enlighten me further

[Stewart]

A couple of threads:

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/...sdon-bird.html

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/...ister-pip.html

I was sure I had an old review of Ian Cross' The God Boy here, too, but it doesn't appear so. I'll remedy that.

[Liam]

Ah. A topic after my own heart. I love New Zealand.

The best "Kiwi" writer of her generation, undoubtedly, was Janet Frame, who became famous in the 50s and 60s for her superbly written novels and, more recently, for her triple-tiered autobiography, which her fellow New Zealander, Jane Campion, has turned into a 2-and-a-half hour biopic:

In 2004, the New Zealand Listener selected "the top 50 best New Zealand books," including several works of non-fiction:

1. OWLS DO CRY, Janet Frame (1957)
2. TO THE IS-LAND, Janet Frame (1982)
3. THE GARDEN PARTY, Katherine Mansfield (1922)
5. THE LAGOON, Janet Frame (1951)
6. PLUMB, Maurice Gee (1978)
7. AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE, Janet Frame (1984)
8. IN A GERMAN PENSION, Katherine Mansfield (1911)
9. TUTIRA: The Story of a New Zealand Sheep Station, Herbert Guthrie-Smith (1921)
10. THE BONE PEOPLE, Keri Hulme (1983)
11. THAT SUMMER, Frank Sargeson (1946)
12. MAN ALONE, John Mulgan (1939)
13. THE SCARECROW, Ronald Hugh Morrieson (1963)
14. NEW ZEALAND TREES, J T Salmon (1980)
15. MEG, Maurice Gee (1981)
16. NO ORDINARY SUN, Hone Tuwhare (1964)
17. O?LEARY?S ORCHARD, Maurice Duggan (1970)
18. PENGUIN HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND, Keith Sinclair (1959)
19. THE SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND FROM THE ROAD, Robin Morrison (1981)
20. ONCE WERE WARRIORS, Alan Duff (1990)
21. SING TO ME, DREAMER, Shonagh Koea (1994)
22. JERUSALEM SONNETS, James K Baxter (1970)
23. TOMORROW WE SAVE THE ORPHANS, Owen Marshall (1992)
24. POUNAMU, POUNAMU, Witi Ihimaera (1972)
25. THE NEW ZEALAND WARS, James Belich (1986)
26. TIMELESS LAND, Grahame Sydney, Brian Turner and Owen Marshall (1995)
27. THE BOOK OF FAME, Lloyd Jones (2000)
28. POTIKI, Patricia Grace (1986)
29. BELIEVERS TO THE BRIGHT COAST, by Vincent O?Sullivan (1998)
30. PENGUIN BOOK OF NEW ZEALAND VERSE, edited by Allen Curnow (1960)
31. THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN COOK, James Beaglehole (1974)
32. TE PUEA, Michael King (1977)
33. THE SEASON OF THE JEW, Maurice Shadbolt (1986)
34. DICTIONARY OF NEW ZEALAND ENGLISH, edited by Harry Orsman (1997)
35. GOING WEST, Maurice Gee (1992)
36. THE HAUNTING, Margaret Mahy (1982)
37. CAME A HOT FRIDAY, Ronald Hugh Morrieson (1964)
38. ALL VISITORS ASHORE, C K Stead (1984)
39. ONCE IS ENOUGH, by Frank Sargeson (1973)
40. PIG ISLAND LETTERS, James K Baxter (1966)
41. SINGS HARRY, Denis Glover (1951)
42. THE STORY OF A NEW ZEALAND RIVER, Jane Mander (1920)
43. TREES, EFFIGIES, Allen Curnow (1972)
44. COAL FLAT, Bill Pearson (1963)
45. THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND, Michael King (2003)
46. NO NEW THING, R A K Mason (1934)
47. TAWA, Elizabeth Knox (1998)
48. A PASSPORT TO HELL, Robin Hyde (1936)
49. A REPORT ON EXPERIENCE, John Mulgan (1947)
50. THE TEHRAN CONTRACT, Gayle Rivers (1981)

Other than Frame, Mansfield (whom I would classify as an expat) and the omnipresent Witi Ihimaera (recently accused of plagiarism), I've not read anything else from the list, except the first 20 pages or so of Keri Hulme's Bone People, which I found to be utterly unreadable. I have the first volume of Belich's History of New Zealand at home but haven't opened it yet.

WW, with your recent and surging interest in children's books, you might want to take a look at Frame's beautifully written short story (NB: written for children, not young adults), Mona Minim and the Smell of the Sun:

Thanks for starting this thread; let's see what Refus has to say!

[Amoxcalli]

I've not read anything else from the list, except the first 20 pages or so of Keri Hulme's Bone People, which I found to be utterly unreadable.

Really? I found the writing quite fresh and readable actually. It's a shame it is so exceptionally slow. I did finish it, in the end, but it became a drag towards the end. Not so much the style, but rather the length and apparent pointlessness that made it barely readable, in my opinion.

[Liam]

I found the writing quite fresh and readable actually.

Tortuous and muddled, more like it. But then again, my tastes in literature are vastly conservative, so don't take my word for it. It's good that you've read the entire book, maybe you can start a thread on it and encourage more people to read it. Don't let me be the party pooper, .

...apparent pointlessness...

YES!!!

[Liam]

I wonder if anybody has read or heard of Elizabeth Knox (1959-), a contemporary Kiwi novelist and short story writer. I have The Vintner's Luck (1998), allegedly her "most famous novel," somewhere on my shelves; unfortunately, I haven't even read the blurb on the back yet!


Last year, the novel was made into a film by Niki Caro (Whale Rider, North Country, etc), which I haven't seen either, although these stills do look promising:

...

Wikipedia describes Knox as the author of "eight novels, an autobiographical trilogy of novellas, a fantasy duet for young adults, and a collection of essays."

Perhaps the two-volume fantasy novel for "young adults" will interest you, WW:

Dreamhunter Duet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Somebody ought to do a thread on this woman--