Cape Catley Ltd - $47.99.
A new edition of the short stories from the father of modern New Zealand writing and the man who introduced the speech of ordinary New Zealanders to our literature and took it to the international stage.
This collection includes 13 works which have not previously appeared in Sargeson collections.
Frank Sargeson (1903 to 1982) was the mentor to many of our past and current writers, including Janet Frame, C.K. Stead, and Kevin Ireland.
The annual Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship continues this tradition. Among those to benefit have been Michael King, Steve Braunias, Emily Perkins, Charlotte Grimshaw and others.
Last evening the book was launched at NZ's most popular book launch venue, Takapuna Public Library on Auckland's North Shore, and it was done in a happy and spectacular style by publisher Dame Christine Cole-Catley, who is also chair of the Sargeson Trust and Sargeson's literary executor, writer/commentator Gordon McLauchlan, author/poet C.K.Stead and former Governor General Dame Cath Tizzard. What an entertaining bunch they proved to be with the two Dames in particular having the audience in stitches on a number of occasions.
This is a handsome publication, I find the paper and the font especially pleasing, it is far and away the best publication yet of the old master's short stories. Thank you Cape Catley for your care and attention on this one.
And I love this photo (right) taken by Kevin Ireland of Sargeson rolling a cigarette, surrounded by books, which appears on the inside fromt cover flap.
And here is the text that accompanies the photo:
It all began with Frank Sargeson.
His voice and his influence were the first to reveal their own country to both writers and readers.
He liked to tell the story of overhearing a lecturer declaim:’ New Zealand literature has suffered two tragedies – Katherine Mansfield and Frank Sargeson.’ The lecturer, of course, meant that so many copied these two writers instead of trying to find their own way.
Mansfield’s was essentially the voice of an expatriate. Sargeson’s was quintessentially of New Zealand.
About Janet Wilson:
Janet Wilson knew Frank Sargeson from when she was a very small child. Her father, short story writer Phillip Wilson, was one of the 'sons of Sargeson', writers he mentored and particularly enjoyed. Now a professor of postcolonial writing at Northampton University in the United Kingdom, Janet Wilson brings her special insights as well as her particular literary interests to her Introduction to Frank Sargeson's Stories.
Footnote:
The Takapuna Public Library is the home of the superb bronze of Frank Sargeson by sculptor Anthony Stones which is the centrepiece of a Sargeson mini-exhibition arranged to coincide with the book launch. Thanks to librarian extraordinaire Hleen Woodhouse for her care and attention to such detail. It is little wonder publishers love having book launches at this splendid venue.
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