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Landfall: a New Zealand Journal: 50th Anniversary Issue Number 194 Spring 1997.
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February 15, 2024
This issue is the 50th anniversary issue and is edited by Chris Price. I haven't heard of Price but have seen many of the names of contributors before.
There are two short stories, Floating Words by Keri Hulme and an excerpt from Glass by Catherine Chidgey. Both were great, although I question how well some of the content in Glass aged. I am not sure if Glass is a longer story, or if became part of a novel (I couldn't find anything in a quick search online). I know that this excerpt was published before her debut novel In a Fishbone Church, which I have a copy of but haven't yet read. I thought that it had quite strong imagery although I didn't know where it was going, probably since it's an except. Floating Words was a surreal dream where the narrator, probably a fictional Keri Hulme, picks mushrooms and writes a neverending novel for food until the seas' encroachment leads her into it. I liked the incorporation of her wine songs (that she put in her poetry collection Strands).
There are four essays. The best were those about Bill Pearson and Kendrick Smithyman. Both of these inspire an interest in those authors. The essay on the clash between saltwater and freshwater economists and their untested ideas being used on New Zealand was interesting. The Hotere essay also made me want to read the book about his connections with poets. I have seen his work in art galleries and read some of the poets (McQueen, Tuwhare) that he knew. The Bill Pearson essay spoke of the impact of Pearson's essay Fretful Sleepers on the attitudes of (Pakeha) New Zealanders and his view that they are susceptible to Fascism. I want to read that and also Coal Flat (which I have a rugged copy of). Kendrick Smithyman is someone who I think I've seen his name before but never read nor heard anyone talk of. His epic poem Atua Wera concerns the lives of Maori and Pakeha living in Northland around a central figure named Papahurihia during the time of Te Kooti. This mythological age is great for these kinds of stories and I am very grateful to be introduced to it. I am not sure where I would access this poem but am keen to read it.
The poems notable to me in this issue were Ever Seen a Cactus Flower by Ruth Dallas, Removing the subsidy on butter by Elizabeth Smither, Silver by Cilla McQueen, Wainui by Victoria Broome and Pearl by Sinead Morrissey.
There is a special feature on Scottish poets. I had heard of Carol Ann Duffy but none of the others. I liked John Burnside's poem Ports but I didn't particularly care for the ending of it. Robert Crawford's Grim Reaper was a good political poem. However, the greatest discovery of these Scottish poets was Kathleen Jamie. I loved her poems especially A Miracle.
There were reviews of all sorts of books. I was keen to read Redemption Songs after hearing good things about it but the review here seems a bit more tempered. Some of these reviews seemed a bit unnecessarily harsh, but maybe that's because I'm from the future where everyone is afraid of being mean. The review of Best Gay Writing was good, I had no idea about any of those things.
As with any journal it is a mix of things you like and those you don't care for. I am happy I read this particular edition as it piqued my interest for writers I had no concept of and had quite a few things I liked.
There are two short stories, Floating Words by Keri Hulme and an excerpt from Glass by Catherine Chidgey. Both were great, although I question how well some of the content in Glass aged. I am not sure if Glass is a longer story, or if became part of a novel (I couldn't find anything in a quick search online). I know that this excerpt was published before her debut novel In a Fishbone Church, which I have a copy of but haven't yet read. I thought that it had quite strong imagery although I didn't know where it was going, probably since it's an except. Floating Words was a surreal dream where the narrator, probably a fictional Keri Hulme, picks mushrooms and writes a neverending novel for food until the seas' encroachment leads her into it. I liked the incorporation of her wine songs (that she put in her poetry collection Strands).
There are four essays. The best were those about Bill Pearson and Kendrick Smithyman. Both of these inspire an interest in those authors. The essay on the clash between saltwater and freshwater economists and their untested ideas being used on New Zealand was interesting. The Hotere essay also made me want to read the book about his connections with poets. I have seen his work in art galleries and read some of the poets (McQueen, Tuwhare) that he knew. The Bill Pearson essay spoke of the impact of Pearson's essay Fretful Sleepers on the attitudes of (Pakeha) New Zealanders and his view that they are susceptible to Fascism. I want to read that and also Coal Flat (which I have a rugged copy of). Kendrick Smithyman is someone who I think I've seen his name before but never read nor heard anyone talk of. His epic poem Atua Wera concerns the lives of Maori and Pakeha living in Northland around a central figure named Papahurihia during the time of Te Kooti. This mythological age is great for these kinds of stories and I am very grateful to be introduced to it. I am not sure where I would access this poem but am keen to read it.
The poems notable to me in this issue were Ever Seen a Cactus Flower by Ruth Dallas, Removing the subsidy on butter by Elizabeth Smither, Silver by Cilla McQueen, Wainui by Victoria Broome and Pearl by Sinead Morrissey.
There is a special feature on Scottish poets. I had heard of Carol Ann Duffy but none of the others. I liked John Burnside's poem Ports but I didn't particularly care for the ending of it. Robert Crawford's Grim Reaper was a good political poem. However, the greatest discovery of these Scottish poets was Kathleen Jamie. I loved her poems especially A Miracle.
There were reviews of all sorts of books. I was keen to read Redemption Songs after hearing good things about it but the review here seems a bit more tempered. Some of these reviews seemed a bit unnecessarily harsh, but maybe that's because I'm from the future where everyone is afraid of being mean. The review of Best Gay Writing was good, I had no idea about any of those things.
As with any journal it is a mix of things you like and those you don't care for. I am happy I read this particular edition as it piqued my interest for writers I had no concept of and had quite a few things I liked.
Displaying 1 of 1 review