Concerning points We thank New Zealand Books Pukapuka Aotearoa and Airini Beautrais for the largely positive review of Manifesto Aotearoa 101 Political Poems (NZB Summer 2017), but its final points are concerning. Airini Beautrais refers to “cringe-worthy instances of cultural…

“Misleading expectations” Barbara Else’s review (NZB, Spring 2016) of Mary-anne Scott’s young adult novel Coming Home to Roost contains several errors of fact. Else writes, “The blurb states that the novel tackles teen pregnancy from the boy’s point of view.”…

Critical attention Good to see in your issue 112 (NZB Summer 2015) Vincent O’Sullivan’s obituary on W H Oliver who was married to my mother’s half-sister Dorothy. I remember discussing poetry with Dorothy and Bill 65 years ago. More to…

Mud on the tracks

I want to say a few things about some connotations in the review of my third novel, Glam Rock Boyfriends (NZB Spring 2014). Nick Bollinger, your reviewer, is an expert re rock music, so I was delighted to find the music details were fine, as he did not mention any issues. Descriptions in the book also conjured up rewarding, tangible images, he said. Yes, I did want readers to enjoy recalling the recent past. Crisp poplins on a summer’s day in the 1950s, for instance, and satins and velvets sumptuous in the 1970s.