Blog Archives
Poem – C K Stead
Three to the Left 1 Vivienne Today was her send-off. In a plywood coffin hand-painted with flowers she was laid out on trestles in the Trades Hall, eighty-four years of Stalinist conviction leavened by jokes. Tunelessly interspersed with reminiscence…
Scarred by difference, Ruth Nichol
Lucky Bastard Peter Wells Vintage, $27.99, ISBN 9781869419431 At a recent funeral for a friend’s father many of us were surprised – and surprisingly moved – when a uniformed soldier played The Last Post. It struck a sombre note during…
Tagged with: Autumn 2008, Issue 81, Peter Wells, Ruth Nichol, Vintage
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
More management, less education, Tim Hazledine
Crisis of Identity? The Mission and Management of Universities in New Zealand Wilf Malcolm and Nicholas Tarling Dunmore Press, $39.95, ISBN 9781877399275 Clark Kerr, a great president of the University of California at Berkeley, once defined the university as “a…
Tagged with: Autumn 2008, Dunmore Press, Dunmore Publishing, Issue 81, Nicholas Tarling, Tim Hazledine, Wilf Malcolm
Posted in Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Non-fiction, Review
Self-portrait with wooden spoon, Lois Daish
The Kindness of Strangers: Kitchen Memoirs Shonagh Koea (illustrations by Peter Wells) Vintage, $34.99, ISBN 9781869419189 It wasn’t in her own mother’s kitchen that the young Shonagh found out food could make her happy. Things at home were a bit…
Tagged with: Autumn 2008, Issue 81, Lois Daish, Peter Wells, Shonagh Koea, Vintage
Posted in Memoir, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Memoir, Non-fiction, Review
Risky enterprises, Elizabeth Caffin
Ripples on the Lake Dawn Rotorangi HarperCollins, $26.99, ISBN 13978869506391 Cutting Caleb Keys Glenn Bowden Penguin Books, $28.00, ISBN 9780143006008 Rocking Horse Road Carl Nixon Vintage, $27.99, ISBN 9781969419073 The Blue Mary McCallum Penguin Books, $28.00, ISBN 9780143007234 In the…
Tagged with: Autumn 2008, Carl Nixon, Dawn Rotorangi, Elizabeth Caffin, Glenn Bowden, HarperCollins, Issue 81, Mary McCallum, Penguin Books, Vintage
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Still in tune, Brent Southgate
A Nest of Singing Birds:100 years of the New Zealand School Journal Gregory O’Brien Learning Media, $59.95, ISBN 9780790319636 It has almost no equivalent elsewhere. Margaret Mahy has called it a “national treasure”. For many, it has been the beginning…
Tagged with: Autumn 2008, Brent Southgate, Gregory O’Brien, Issue 81, Learning Media
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Friends and other strangers, Murray Bramwell
Playing Friends Marilyn Duckworth Vintage, $27.99, ISBN 9781869418694 Trendy But Casual Paula Morris Penguin Books, $28.00, ISBN 9780143006398 It’s that time in later middle age when school reunions have become like a dawn (or twilight) parade of veterans and survivors.…
Tagged with: Autumn 2008, Issue 81, Marilyn Duckworth, Murray Bramwell, Paula Morris, Penguin Books, Vintage
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Porridge stirring, John Horrocks
The Problem of Prisons: Correction Reform in New Zealand since 1840 Greg Newbold Dunmore Press, $49.95, ISBN 9790187399213 Mt Eden Prison in Auckland speaks of an era when punishment and incarceration were very visible. Its turreted buildings of black volcanic…
Tagged with: Autumn 2008, Dunmore Press, Dunmore Publishing, Greg Newbold, Issue 81, John Horrocks
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review
Breaking free, Jill Holt
The Dumpster Saga Craig Harrison Scholastic New Zealand, $16.99, ISBN 9781869438166 Salt Maurice Gee Puffin, $17.95, ISBN 9780143303350 The Sea-wreck Stranger Anna Mackenzie Longacre Press, $18.99, ISBN 9781877361883 It’s hard to imagine and salutary to recall that many teenagers do…
Tagged with: Anna Mackenzie, Autumn 2008, Craig Harrison, Issue 81, Jill Holt, Longacre Press, Maurice Gee, Puffin, Scholastic New Zealand
Posted in Children, Fiction, Literature, Review, Young adults
Posted in Children, Fiction, Literature, Review, Young adults
Obituary — Bernard Gadd
Bernard Gadd (1935-2007) Writer Bernard Gadd, who died in December last year, was an Auckland teacher, anthologist and poet, whose work was widely published in literary journals. He also founded his own imprint, Hallard Press. Bernard was a tireless contributor…