NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE

the body of literatures, both oral and written, produced in New Zealand. the body of literatures, both oral and written, produced in New Zealand. Maori habitation of New Zealand began some 1,000 years before settlement by Europeans. Like other Polynesian peoples, the Maori had an oral tradition that included war chants, laments, love poems, prayers, and a well-developed mythology. The tribal meeting ground was (and continues to be) the site of much oratory, a Maori practice that combines text with aspects of performance. Maori legend also brought the past into the present, making the events described contemporary. When some New Zealand scholars began to fear that the Maori culture would eventually be lost, they attempted to record as much Maori legend as they could. Many types of songs and song-chants have been distinguished; they include laments, love songs, gossip songs, songs of courtship or praise, songs for children, and songs of greeting and farewell. There are also chants for a variety of occasions. Between the 1940s, when Maori writers began to publish works in English, and the 1970s, few writers knew much of the Maori language. Since that time, many writers who identify themselves with Maori culture have established a presence in New Zealand literary history. The first permanent colony in New Zealand was established in 1840, but modern discussion of New Zealand literature has generally discounted works produced in the 19th century as the output of Britishers abroad. Much of the early writing was, understandably, derivative, and the most informative 19th-century writings are autobiographical narratives of pioneer experiences, such as Lady Mary Anne Barker's Station Life in New Zealand (1870) and Frederick Maning's Old New Zealand (1863). The country's first writer of brilliance, Katherine Mansfield, though living and working abroad for most of her life, set many of her short storiesincluding those collected in Bliss (1920) and The Garden Party (1922)in the idealized New Zealand of her childhood. Among her contemporaries and near-contemporaries, the novelists Jane Mander, William Satchell, John A. Lee, Robin Hyde, and John Mulgan should be noted. The first outstanding New Zealand poet was Blanche Edith Baughan. She was followed in the 1930s by such poets as A.R.D. Fairburn, R.A.K. Mason, Allen Curnow, and Denis Glover. Frank Sargeson, noted for his three-volume autobiography and his novels, also began publishing stories in the 1930s. In the 1950s a number of now internationally known writers including Janet Frame and Sylvia Ashton-Warner came to the fore. Other writers of note included the novelists Maurice Shadbolt, Maurice Gee, Bill Pearson, David Ballantyne, and Ronald Hugh Morrieson and the vigorous, eclectic poet James K. Baxter, who became something of a cult hero. Literary styles of the late 20th century tended to reflect international trends, with poetry reflecting surrealist, modernist, and feminist strains. Theatre, in particular, flourishedwith notable plays by Bruce Mason, Mervyn Thompson, Roger Hall, and poet Vincent O'Sullivanand there was considerable crossing of genres among New Zealand writers. Additional reading Critical studies and histories include Terry Sturm (ed.), The Oxford History of New Zealand Literature (1991); Patrick Evans, The Penguin History of New Zealand Literature (1990); Mark Williams, Leaving the Highway: Six Contemporary New Zealand Novelists (1990); Lawrence Jones, Barbed Wire & Mirrors: Essays on New Zealand Prose (1987); C.K. Stead, Answering to the Language: Essays on Modern Writers (1989), and In the Glass Case: Essays on New Zealand Literature (1981); Joan Stevens, The New Zealand Novel, 18601965, 2nd ed. rev. (1966); and E.H. McCormick, New Zealand Literature: A Survey (1959). Anthologies with useful introductions are Miriama Evans, Harvey McQueen, and Ian Wedde (eds.), The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry (1989); Vincent O'Sullivan (ed.), An Anthology of Twentieth Century New Zealand Poetry, 3rd ed. (1987); Ian Wedde and Harvey McQueen (eds.), The Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse (1985); Marion McLeod and Bill Manhire (eds.), Some Other Country: New Zealand's Best Short Stories (1984); MacDonald P. Jackson and Vincent O'Sullivan (eds.), The Oxford Book of New Zealand Writing Since 1945 (1983); Witi Ihimaera and D.S. Long (eds.), Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Maori Writing (1982); Fleur Adcock (ed.), The Oxford Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry (1982); Mervyn McLean and Margaret Orbell (eds.), Traditional Songs of the Maori (1975, reprinted 1990); Charles Doyle (ed.), Recent Poetry in New Zealand (1965); Charles Brasch (ed.), Landfall Country (1962); Allen Curnow (ed.), The Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse (1960), and A Book of New Zealand Verse, 192350 (1951); Quentin Pope (ed.), Kowhai Gold: An Anthology of Contemporary New Zealand Verse (1930); and W.F. Alexander and A.E. Currie, A Treasury of New Zealand Verse, new ed. (1926). See also the literary journal Landfall (quarterly). Christian Karlson Stead