Yearly Archives: 1999

Poems for the pocket, Vivienne Plumb

50 Poems: A Celebration Lauris Edmond Bridget Williams Books/Peppercorn Press, $29.95, ISBN 1 877 242 039 It is good to mark our lives with some celebration, which 
 is why we should welcome this celebratory collection of Lauris Edmond’s work

See more ›

Tagged with: , , , ,
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review

The Gen-X factor, Kate Camp

Literature One of the most pervasive ideas in contemporary culture is that nothing is original. It has become a modern cliché to complain about revivals of the past, and wonder what will come next. We’ve had the sixties, seventies and

See more ›

Tagged with: ,
Posted in Comment, Essays, Literature

With the seams showing, Vivienne Shakespear

After Robert Sarah Quigley Penguin, $24.95, ISBN 0 14 028437 0 Halley and Claudia, 20-year-olds living on opposite sides of the planet but “born under the same astrological influence” are stars set to collide in Sarah Quigley’s upbeat first novel,

See more ›

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review

The archaeology of childhood, Jack Lasenby

Desert Shorts Norman Bilbrough Canterbury University Press, $24.95, ISBN 0 908812 81 7 The first paragraphs of Norman Bilbrough’s title story catch the moment when the boy-child’s uncritical admiration of the parent turns to youthful embarrassment – so like and

See more ›

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review, Short stories

The virtues of style, Peter Hawes

Losing Alice Noel Virtue Vintage, $24.95, ISBN 1 86941 370 9 I saw a TV interview with Noel Virtue while writing this review. Fortunately he got everything right. He spoke about personal redemption in his work, and how it comes about

See more ›

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review

Myths and Legends of Aotearoa, Richard Smith

Myths and Legends of Aotearoa Annie Rae Te Ake Ake, illustrated by New Zealand secondary school artists Scholastic, $34.95, ISBN 1 86943 388 2 The publication of Myths and Legends of Aotearoa is an interesting story in itself. This book

See more ›

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in Children, Literature, Review

James Joyce meets Front Lawn, Chris Knox

Stray Thoughts and Nose Bleeds Duncan Sarkies Victoria University Press, $19.95, ISBN 0 86473 382 8 Since the huge success of Scarfies, the Sarkies name has become almost mainstream. The exceedingly popular film, based in the student flatting subculture of

See more ›

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in Literature, Review, Short stories

Still in the ascendant, Anne French

The Lark Quartet Elizabeth Smither Auckland University Press, $19.95, ISBN 1 86940 216 2 Now here’s a curious thing. The Elizabeth Smither who burst fully formed out of the New Zealand literary forehead 25 years ago, back in 1975, turns

See more ›

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review

Neighbourhood watch, L E Scott

The Usefulness of Singing Helen Jacobs Sudden Valley Press, $16.95, ISBN 0 9583684 1 4 Legend of the Cool Secret Graham Lindsay Sudden Valley Press, $16.95, ISBN 0 9583684 6 5 Stone Moon Dark Water John Allison Sudden Valley Press,

See more ›

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review

More spills than thrills, Bernard Carpinter

The Wastings Don Donovan Hazard Press, $24.95, ISBN 1 877161 52 7 Don Donovan’s The Wastings could be read as a savage satire on the evils of the right-wing economic theories that have bedevilled this country over the last 15

See more ›

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Search the archive
Search by category