Blog Archives
Bullies behind the screen, Jane Westaway
Whale Oil Margie Thomson Potton and Burton, $40.00, ISBN 9780947503819 The authors of certain books published in this country deserve medals. Not literary prizes, although they might merit these, too. But I mean authors who devote themselves to uncovering connections…
Tagged with: Issue 128, Jane Westaway, Margie Thomson, Potton and Burton, Summer 2019
Posted in Media, Non-fiction, Review, Sociology
Posted in Media, Non-fiction, Review, Sociology
The unnerving detritus of what was, Jane Westaway
The Shops Steve Braunias and Peter Black (photographer) Luncheon Sausage Books, $40.00, ISBN 9780908689941 Once upon a time, I met people who owned a shop. I was young and impressionable and, on my first visit, was dazzled by a window…
Tagged with: Issue 118, Jane Westaway, Luncheon Sausage Books, Peter Black, Steve Braunias, Winter 2017
Posted in Essays, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Essays, Non-fiction, Review
Rescuing an heroic figure, Jane Westaway
Petals & Bullets: Dorothy Morris, New Zealand Nurse in the Spanish Civil War Mark Derby Potton and Burton, $40.00, ISBN 9781927213766 In the preface to Mark Derby’s new book, Spanish War historian Angela Jackson writes of the challenge in recounting…
Tagged with: Dorothy Morris, Issue 114, Jane Westaway, Mark Derby, Potton and Burton, Winter 2016
Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review, War
Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review, War
Telling stories, Jane Westaway
In the Neighbourhood of Fame Bridget van der Zijpp Victoria University Press, $30.00, ISBN 9780864739247 Sleep Sister Karen Breen Eunoia Publishing, $30.00, ISBN 9780994104755 These two new novels appear from what – not long ago – would have been opposite…
Tagged with: Bridget van der Zijpp, Eunoia Publishing, Issue 110, Jane Westaway, Karen Breen, Victoria University Press, Winter 2015
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Investigation: “The health and safety event of a generation”, Jane Westaway
Tragedy at Pike River Mine: How and Why 29 Men Died Rebecca Macfie Awa Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781877551901 Every New Zealander of voting age should read this book. It recounts the decades-long lead-up to an afternoon, nearly three years ago,…
Tagged with: Awa Press, Issue 106, Jane Westaway, Rebecca Macfie, Winter 2014
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
The ties that bind, Jane Westaway
The Lie That Settles Peter Farrell Ocean Books, $35.00, ISBN 978192721708 The Lost Pilot Jeffrey Paparoa Holman Penguin, $40.00, ISBN 9781742539201 A History of Silence Lloyd Jones Penguin, $38.00, ISBN 9780143569473 “The cradle rocks above an abyss,” writes Nabokov in…
Tagged with: Issue 104, Jane Westaway, Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, Lloyd Jones, Ocean Books, Penguin, Peter Farrell, Summer 2013
Posted in Memoir, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Memoir, Non-fiction, Review
Editorial – Issue 103
Opening up the archive We’re starting to feel a little sheepish about the milestones we keep reaching. This is our third and fourth in less than three years. Still, here we go: with this – our 103rd issue – we’re…
Cashing up, Jane Westaway
Jane Westaway sells a book and wonders how. Eleven years ago I published a novel. Last Wednesday I received my latest royalty statement. Somewhere out there, I understand, are authors who, along with their statements, get cheques that go some…
Editorial – Issue 100
Whithering or withering? Back in the day, literary couple Iris Murdoch and John Bayley used to speak of “whithering”. They were referring to international festivals at which they were asked to address the question “whither the novel?” At the dawn…
Cohabiting libraries, Jane Westaway
Posted in Comment