12 July 2016
RE: Janet Frame Eden Street Trust
I am writing in support of the Janet Frame Eden Street Trust’s
excellent work in fostering the literary community in Oamaru and beyond.
Janet Frame occupies a unique position in New Zealand literature. She
is perhaps our most internationally renowned author: her name immediately
conjures respect and recognition. Yet, her writing also encourages a remarkable
intimacy. Those who admire her work often look on it with a proprietary affection,
as if it speaks directly to them and their personal lives. The way in which the
Eden Street Trust has preserved Frame’s house seems to me to reflect this dual
connection. 56 Eden Street has been restored with an historian’s reverence and
care, yet it does not at all have the chill or distance of a museum. It feels
like a family home.
The Trust’s ongoing use of this nationally important site reflects
this. I was recently invited to conduct a public lecture and creative writing
workshop on their behalf. During the second half of the workshop, students were
invited to share lunch at 56 Eden Street before getting down to the work of
completing their assigned writing tasks. An initial sense of wonder – that of
the visitor to a hallowed spot – quickly became businesslike. Students took
temporary occupation of the house, perched themselves on chairs and beds, and
they began to write. I can think of no better tribute to Frame’s ongoing and
vital influence in our literary culture than that hum of productivity and
inspiration. The Janet Frame Eden Street Trust preserves the literal home of
one of our most distinctive writers, but in encouraging the public to share it
in this way, it also preserves her ideal of establishing a home in literature.
For a small group, the Trust functions with remarkable efficiency.
At all stages in the organization and running of the workshop the team worked
together seamlessly and with a warm professionalism. The work they do is of
great value to the Oamaru community, but also to the wider literary community
of New Zealand.
I was delighted to be involved with the Janet Frame Eden Street
Trust in this way, and warmly support any future funding application they may
put forward.
Yours sincerely
Anna Smaill
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