As their freinds leave for Europe and the government gets tough with the unions, a bohemian community is enjoying the euphoria of youth.It was their dreamtime. The wider world beckoned from the white ships sailing past Rangitoto Island, but the dream was also here on the Takapuna shoreline of Auckland, where the artist Melior Farbro grew his vegetables and let Cecilia Skyways follow her own form of Zen Buddhism in his garden hut. Where Curl Skidmore, his brilliant young head full o...

A chance meeting has New Zealand writer Laszlo Winter thinking back to his time in London in the late 1950s. The Empire might be in a state of collapse, but for young 'colonials', England remains a mythical place that draws them from the farthest corners of the globe.There was Australian Samantha Conlan, clever, desirable, hopelessly in love with married Jewish New Zealander Freddy Goldstein, who carried with him a dark history. Rajiv, an earnest young Indian at work on a study of ...

A literary life in New Zealand and beyond, from one of its most significant voices. C. K. Stead continues his memoirs, chronicling his journey from a young lecturer in Australia to a prominent figure in New Zealand's literary scene.This second volume delves into Stead's experiences navigating the complexities of literary friendships, political activism, and personal growth during a transformative period. From encounters with literary giants like Curnow and Baxter t...

A poignant collection of poems from one of New Zealand's most celebrated voices.C.K. Stead's Say I Do This offers a reflective journey through memory, aging, and friendship. These poems, written between 2018 and 2022, explore personal and cultural identity with intimacy and humor. Stead's keen observations and masterful use of language create a landscape of both melancholy and appreciation.For readers seeking:Contemporary poetry that re...

'A vivid and engrossing historical novel' Daily TelegraphSpanning three years in the life of the writer Katherine Mansfield during the First World War, Mansfield follows the ups and downs of her relationship with Jack Middleton Murry and her struggle to write the 'new kind of fiction' which she felt the times demanded. She is restless, constantly on the move, in and out of London, to and from France, even into the war zone, to be with her French lover, novelist Fr...

Having left the university to write full-time at the end of volume two, Stead throws himself into his work. In novels like Sister Hollywood and My Name Was Judas, criticism in the London Review of Books and the Financial Times, poetry and memoir, Stead establishes his international reputation as novelist, poet, and critic. It is also a period when Stead's fearless lucidity on matters literary and political embroil him in argument—from The Bone Peopl...

Exploring literature, cultures, and surroundings—both physical and social—the poems in this collection are firmly attached to the author's memories. With appearances by various other literary fellows, in person, dream, or conversation—including Curnow, Kawharu, Sargeson, Creeley, Mansfield, and Wordsworth—this book also features warmly translated versions of poems by Montale, Vita, and Jaccottet alongside glimpses of fantails and elegies for friends. Urging its readers to stay alert and pa...

A sequel to the successful books Kin of Place and The Writer at Work, this collection of critical writing takes the reader on a personal journey from the author's earliest discovery of poetry as a young man to his latest experiences on the literary trail. This trip through literary history involves many writers, including Katherine Mansfield, T. S. Eliot, Michael King, and Elizabeth Knox. The book also includes a series of journal extracts that allow readers to get closer...

This collection of 28 critical essays provides provocative comment on the work of 20 New Zealand writers, including Elizabeth Knox, Katherine Mansfield, Kendrick Smithyman, Allen Curnow, and Janet Frame.

Recently divorced New Zealander Sam Nola returns to London, where he spent two years in his early twenties. It is early 2003, and on both sides of Atlantic the case for military intervention in Iraq is being made - or fabricated.But life for Sam has never been better: a grown-up, half-French daughter from a long ago affair has recently got in touch, and he has walked into a lucrative role in the booming banking sector.It is only when he learns of the deaths of two friends w...

A striking new collection of accessible yet elegant stories from literary giant and master craftsman C.K. Stead.Gathered from throughout Stead's career, these stories are a reminder of his deft storytelling and literary power. They are clever, sensual, wry and beautifully written, with Stead's subtle sense of humour evident at every turn.The collection can be read as a meditation on the writerly life, and includes a number of new, previously unpublished stories, including '...

Award-winning author C.K. Stead takes us to the heart of contemporary Paris and into a world of books and witty conversation. The Necessary Angel is a story of people grappling with love and fidelity; a story about the importance of books; a commentary on living in complex modern-day Europe; and a page-turning mystery. With a surprising twist at the end, this is a sophisticated novel that shows Stead writing at the height of his powers.'Stead is a fine writer, intelligent ...