Adverse Reactions: The Fenoterol Story Neil Pearce Auckland University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781869403744 At the outset I confess to a personal interest in this story. I am a physician (some physicians are among the villains of this piece), and I…
Here Comes Another Vital Moment Diane Brown Godwit, $25.00, ISBN 1869621190 News of the Swimmer Reaches Shore Gregory O’Brien Victoria University Press, $30.00, ISBN 0864735324 Luca Antara: Passages in Search of Australia Martin Edmond Addenda, $44.95, ISBN 1921037083…
Into the Light: A History of New Zealand Photography David Eggleton Craig Potton Publishing, $59.99, ISBN 1877333549 A history of New Zealand through photography: at long last the poor cousin of art and literature has crawled out from the black…
Aberhart Gregory O’Brien and Justin Paton (eds) Victoria University Press, $125.00, ISBN 9780864735560 It’s given to few artists – in their lifetimes, at least – to be known simply by their surname. The great 20th century instance was Picasso, a…
When She Became He: A Change for Good John Thorp Cape Catley, $27.99, ISBN 1877340073 When I worked as a publisher a well-worn line about New Zealand autobiographies was that only All Blacks and politicians could sell enough to make…
Classic New Zealand Poets in Performance Jack Ross and Jan Kemp (eds) Auckland University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781869403676 Contemporary New Zealand Poets in Performance Jack Ross and Jan Kemp (eds) Auckland University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781869403959 Wordsworth had a Northern…
The Vertical Harp: Selected Poems of Li He Mike Johnson (retrans) Titus Books, $42.95, ISBN 9781877441035 By all accounts, the Chinese poet Li He, who died in 816 at the age of 26, was the oddest of the major poets…
They are not alone, Margaret Beames
Margaret Beames outlines PEN International’s efforts on behalf of writers imprisoned for their work. Thirty-nine-year-old journalist and poet Shi Tao is in prison. In November 2004 he was arrested without a warrant at his home in Taiyuan, northwest China, his…
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