Pages tagged with: literature

Kiwis love books. To celebrate New Zealand Book Month, we have come up with 30 reasons to love New Zealand books and writing. Check back each day in September for a new story about books, writers and their work.

Historian and poet Keith Sinclair has argued that the decade of the 1950s was the time 'when the New Zealand intellect and imagination came alive'

Frank Sargeson in his garden, Takapuna, Auckland, 1932

In some ways war interrupted the work of New Zealand writers; in others it acted as a stimulant. For those who joined the armed forces, such as Eric McCormick, Bruce Mason and Dan Davin, experience of travel and danger gave creative impetus and a new perspective on their country of birth.

Nelle Scanlan, author of the 'Pencarrow' series of historical romances, at her writing desk

The publication in 1960 of a collection of stories about the day-to-day adventures of three young Kiwi boys was a welcome addition to the limited range of quality children's literature.

The publication in 1983 of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy skyrocketed Lynley Dodd to the status of picture book legend. She and author Eve Sutton had won the prestigious Esther Glen award in 1975 for the classic My cat likes to hide in boxes.

Allen Curnow, Denis Glover, Bob Lowry and Captain Donald McWilliam, seated in front of a movie hoarding in Christchurch in 1948.

Portrait of Robin Hyde from the title page of Journalese (1934).

Robin Hyde packed a lot in to her short and often tragic life. She is best known today for her novels Passport to hell, Nor the years condemn and The godwits fly, but she was also a fine poet, a crusading journalist and an outspoken advocate for the downtrodden.

Monty Holcroft's tribute to Ruth France

A portrait of James K. Baxter

Founded in 1947, the quarterly Landfall soon became New Zealand's foremost literary magazine. It was edited until 1966 by the somewhat reserved and intense Otago poet, editor and lecturer Charles Brasch.