Conquerors of Time Lynn McConnell SportsBooks, UK£10.00, ISBN 9781899807888 January 5 was the centenary of the birth of Jack Lovelock. A cake was cut at Timaru Boys’ High School, and a plaque was unveiled at his unlikely birthplace, the literally-named…
Towards a Promised Land: On the Life and Art of Colin McCahon Gordon Brown Auckland University Press, $79.99, ISBN 9781869404529 As I began to read the 16 essays, plus introduction, that make up Gordon Brown’s Towards a Promised Land, I…
No Other Home Than This John Andrews Craig Potton Publishing, $49.99, ISBN 9781877517082 John Andrews must be a very curious man. This is a book that reflects a life of curiosity, of love for his profession, his humanity and his…
Dick Frizzell: The Painter Dick Frizzell Godwit, $75.00; ISBN 9781869621742 It’s funny how an established artist’s moment can seem to arrive suddenly second time around with an exceptionally appealing – almost unbelievable – narrative logic. After the remarkable debut and…
A Canoe in Midstream: Poems New and Old Apirana Taylor Canterbury University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9781877257797 This year I taught a class of bright year nine students an introductory unit on poetry based on Jewels in the Water, an anthology…
Encircled Lands: Te Urewera, 1820-1921 Judith Binney Bridget Williams Books, $79.99, ISBN 9781877242441 This is arguably the most important book on Maori-Pakeha relations to be published in the last quarter-century, unlikely to be equalled in this generation. Its importance stems…