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The Six Pack Three
The Six Pack Three is a collection of new Kiwi writing published to celebrate NZ Book Month 2008.
A blind judging process, culminating in a celebrity judging panel and online poll select the six winners. The writing in The Six Pack Three is a fantastic cross-section of subjects and writing styles.
Now meet the winners…
Kate Duignan – Swallow
Kate lives in Wellington where she is currently teaching the fiction class of the Masters in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University. She was the 2004 recipient of the Robert Burns Fellowship at Otago University. She has published one novel, Breakwater (Victoria University Press, 2001), as well as short fiction and poetry in various journals.
David Geary – Gary Manawatu (1964–2008: Death of a Fence-Post-Modernist)
David is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, actor, poet, teacher, batsman-wicketkeeper, his fiction has been published in Sport and the New Zealand Listener. He has also published a collection of short stores, A Man of the People (Victoria University Press, 2003) and is the 2008 Writer in Residence at Victoria University.
Aroha Harris – Write Poetry
Aroha Harris belongs to Te Rarawa and Ngapuhi and is a history lecturer at the University of Auckland. She has a masters degree in philosophy and a doctorate in history. Her research interests include New Zealand history, Maori culture and society in the post-war era, oral history and race relations. She is the author of Hikoi: Forty Years of Maori Protest (Huia Publishers, 2004).
Ian Mackenzie – Mirror, Mirror
Ian is a primary school teacher originally from England but who has lived in New Zealand for many years. He lives in Auckland with his wife Jane, and their two sons Jack and Tom. He has written plays for school productions and weekly mystery stories for students in an English language programme, but this is his first short story.
Marisa Maepu – ’88
Marisa Maepu is a Samoan New Zealander, born and raised in Auckland. Now living in Wellington with her husband, Marisa has a masters in English from the University of Auckland. Her stories have been published in Niu Voices: Contemporary Pacific Fiction 1 (Huia, 2006) and was a winner in the Spasifik/Huia short story competition in 2007.
Sue Wootton – Virtuoso
Sue Wootton is the 2008 Robert Burns Fellow at the University of Otago. She is the author of two collections of poetry: Magnetic South (Steele Roberts 2008) and Hourglass (Steele Roberts 2005). A children’s story book, Cloudcatcher, is to be published soon.
A blind judging process, culminating in a celebrity judging panel and online poll select the six winners. The writing in The Six Pack Three is a fantastic cross-section of subjects and writing styles.
Now meet the winners…
Kate Duignan – Swallow
Kate lives in Wellington where she is currently teaching the fiction class of the Masters in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University. She was the 2004 recipient of the Robert Burns Fellowship at Otago University. She has published one novel, Breakwater (Victoria University Press, 2001), as well as short fiction and poetry in various journals.
David Geary – Gary Manawatu (1964–2008: Death of a Fence-Post-Modernist)
David is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, actor, poet, teacher, batsman-wicketkeeper, his fiction has been published in Sport and the New Zealand Listener. He has also published a collection of short stores, A Man of the People (Victoria University Press, 2003) and is the 2008 Writer in Residence at Victoria University.
Aroha Harris – Write Poetry
Aroha Harris belongs to Te Rarawa and Ngapuhi and is a history lecturer at the University of Auckland. She has a masters degree in philosophy and a doctorate in history. Her research interests include New Zealand history, Maori culture and society in the post-war era, oral history and race relations. She is the author of Hikoi: Forty Years of Maori Protest (Huia Publishers, 2004).
Ian Mackenzie – Mirror, Mirror
Ian is a primary school teacher originally from England but who has lived in New Zealand for many years. He lives in Auckland with his wife Jane, and their two sons Jack and Tom. He has written plays for school productions and weekly mystery stories for students in an English language programme, but this is his first short story.
Marisa Maepu – ’88
Marisa Maepu is a Samoan New Zealander, born and raised in Auckland. Now living in Wellington with her husband, Marisa has a masters in English from the University of Auckland. Her stories have been published in Niu Voices: Contemporary Pacific Fiction 1 (Huia, 2006) and was a winner in the Spasifik/Huia short story competition in 2007.
Sue Wootton – Virtuoso
Sue Wootton is the 2008 Robert Burns Fellow at the University of Otago. She is the author of two collections of poetry: Magnetic South (Steele Roberts 2008) and Hourglass (Steele Roberts 2005). A children’s story book, Cloudcatcher, is to be published soon.
- GenresShort Stories
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 22, 2009
So here's my quick thoughts on The Six Pack Three:
Marisa Maepu - '88: I enjoyed this - nicely told and the right length for the material it covered. Maybe the ending is unrealistic, but I didn't have a problem with it while I was reading it.
Sue Wootton - Virtuoso: This was very well written - my only reservation is that "the harried businessman who's alienated from his own life" is something of a stock character in New Zealand fiction. Sue Wootton is a very good poet & I think this story shows that she is a good short story writer as well.
Aroha Harris - Write Poetry: I like poetry, and I enjoyed these poems, especially "Rain Again". One of the things I like most about the Six Pack series is that they include poetry as well as prose.
Ian MacKenzie - Mirror Mirror: While it's good to see a genre story included, the scenario of this story is almost exactly the same as a prominent plot element of the first season of the TV series "Heroes". Although Ian MacKenzie has definitely got talent, this story was a miss for me.
David Geary - Gary Manawatu: This was by far my favourite story in the collection. Such a mixture of humour, art-world satire, sly political comment and verbal exuberance is all too rare in New Zealand fiction. This makes me want to read more of David Geary's work.
Kate Duignan - Swallow: Yet another in the long list of "sensitive young artist struggles with difficult family which doesn't appreciate his/her genius" stories by New Zealand authors. Katherine Mansfield did it first and best. Kate Duignan puts words together beautifully but I'd prefer a story with more oomph to end the collection.
Marisa Maepu - '88: I enjoyed this - nicely told and the right length for the material it covered. Maybe the ending is unrealistic, but I didn't have a problem with it while I was reading it.
Sue Wootton - Virtuoso: This was very well written - my only reservation is that "the harried businessman who's alienated from his own life" is something of a stock character in New Zealand fiction. Sue Wootton is a very good poet & I think this story shows that she is a good short story writer as well.
Aroha Harris - Write Poetry: I like poetry, and I enjoyed these poems, especially "Rain Again". One of the things I like most about the Six Pack series is that they include poetry as well as prose.
Ian MacKenzie - Mirror Mirror: While it's good to see a genre story included, the scenario of this story is almost exactly the same as a prominent plot element of the first season of the TV series "Heroes". Although Ian MacKenzie has definitely got talent, this story was a miss for me.
David Geary - Gary Manawatu: This was by far my favourite story in the collection. Such a mixture of humour, art-world satire, sly political comment and verbal exuberance is all too rare in New Zealand fiction. This makes me want to read more of David Geary's work.
Kate Duignan - Swallow: Yet another in the long list of "sensitive young artist struggles with difficult family which doesn't appreciate his/her genius" stories by New Zealand authors. Katherine Mansfield did it first and best. Kate Duignan puts words together beautifully but I'd prefer a story with more oomph to end the collection.
January 20, 2018
Took this along on a tramping trip as was light & east reading . I forget how unsatisfying I find short stories . Doesn’t feel like proper reading. They were however for the most part interesting, especially Gary Manawatu.
January 15, 2022
I like short stories because they have everything that novels contain packed into 30 pages or less. Having said that the writing I liked best was "Write Poetry" by Aroha Harris; and within that my favourite pieces were "Tiana is Two" and "Post Modern Past (Triptych)"
August 13, 2018
An enjoyable and quick read. All stories/poems entertain without really resulting in any desire to re-read.
November 8, 2018
Refreshingly Kiwi short stories, great to read on an overseas trip far from home.
December 26, 2008
The Six Pack Three brings New Zealanders another six kiwi short story offerings for 2008, five chosen by judges, one by popular vote.
The first offering, '88 shows a lot of promise, beginning well. But all the credibility Maepu builds with the reader is instantly destroyed with the hopelessly idealistic climax. Are we really meant to believe a teacher talks a kid out of committing murder with a lecture on ancient Greek symbolism? *gag*.
Wooton's Virtuoso however is a charming piece of work, capturing the atmosphere of New Zealand's capital, and the despair of an overworked lawyer.
As for Harirs' collection of poetry, I'm not a big poetry fan, and her collection failed to convert me. However I did enjoy Defining moments in her history although that’s probably because it resembles a short story more than a poem.
MacKenzie's Mirror Mirror is easily my favorite out of this year's collection, telling the story of a man struggling with himself, with all the darkness and suspense of a good urban legend.
As for the last two, Gary Manawatu was amusing but not really to my taste, and Swallow is confusing and forgettable.
So is it worth reading? Given the range of stories presented everyone is likely to find something to enjoy in this year’s Six Pack, and for $6 you’re bound to get your money’s worth.
The first offering, '88 shows a lot of promise, beginning well. But all the credibility Maepu builds with the reader is instantly destroyed with the hopelessly idealistic climax. Are we really meant to believe a teacher talks a kid out of committing murder with a lecture on ancient Greek symbolism? *gag*.
Wooton's Virtuoso however is a charming piece of work, capturing the atmosphere of New Zealand's capital, and the despair of an overworked lawyer.
As for Harirs' collection of poetry, I'm not a big poetry fan, and her collection failed to convert me. However I did enjoy Defining moments in her history although that’s probably because it resembles a short story more than a poem.
MacKenzie's Mirror Mirror is easily my favorite out of this year's collection, telling the story of a man struggling with himself, with all the darkness and suspense of a good urban legend.
As for the last two, Gary Manawatu was amusing but not really to my taste, and Swallow is confusing and forgettable.
So is it worth reading? Given the range of stories presented everyone is likely to find something to enjoy in this year’s Six Pack, and for $6 you’re bound to get your money’s worth.
January 1, 2011
Six short stories from six New Zealand writers. I thought they were OK, but not great. Lots of relatively minor, slice-of-life type stories. Harris' poetry I thought was dreadful.
August 14, 2016
Great introduction to New Zealand and New Zealand short literature.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews