Speaker: The gathering of the small tribe
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Sounds like a fun night. There seem to be a lot of photos floating around of the event too.
Here's one collection of photos on Flickr, including the winners with their books.
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I was intending to be there, with high hopes for our NZ film book (I contributed Chapter 1o, on the Peter Jackson era) but things got in the way,
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The NZ Post Book Awards are a celebration of ourselves and that “tribe” is growing in size and importance. They might not win bronze, silver or gold and thus command the front page of our newspapers or top the nightly news on television, but the writers are our people and of considerable importance.
Absolutely!!
And thanks for writing this, Graham. -
Graham - the 'small tribe' is - a tiny group of officially approved people who do stuff with government funds because they are officially approved. As someone who has been on the 'innards' -but mainly on the 'outtards'- of this group, may I say how very much it DOES NOT represent ANZ writing?
We go on, doing our self-driven thing and rather despising you lot-
I can, however, wholeheartedly approve of the award choices for Joan Druett and "Native trees."
Brillant brillant books - and wordsmiths - and illustrators-
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Islander, in reply to
Stuff- the edit function ran out-
A) The NZSA used to be a proactive writers' group. It tied itself up with the CLL.
The result was a squander of money (anybody gone and tried out the Great NZ e-Books site? Fuck o dear.)B) A large number of people, from the heights of librarians & cartoonists to some of us lowly poets & whiffly myth-makyrs find the official funding and approval system -vile.
C)Graham - I find - what to me is a self-congratulatory tone of "o look here I am among my own folk and ent we doing good?" - fairly sickening.
Heoi.
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Islander, in reply to
but the writers are our people and of considerable importance.
Frankly - not so.
ANZers give f/a of a toss about writers et al.
And cring-making comments (to writers like myself) by Graham just make us think - who is running this game? Not any of us- for any of us - or for what we think is important. -
Russell Brown, in reply to
C)Graham - I find - what to me is a self-congratulatory tone of "o look here I am among my own folk and ent we doing good?" - fairly sickening.
I accept that you might have issues with people in the book trade, but that's not a reason to take it out on Graham. My reading of his tone is entirely different to yours.
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I reckon Islander's got some valid points to make, as someone who actually is a prominent ANZ author, and while she may be a little heavy-handed in giving grief to Graham I think it is fair enough for her to voice her opinions.
In reading the piece I got a frisson of 'name-dropping, much?' * but anything that raises the profile of, and celebrates, ANZ writers is OK by me.
* Largely because I am a crusty irascible twat, but you knew that.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
I reckon Islander’s got some valid points to make, as someone who actually is a prominent ANZ author, and while she may be a little heavy-handed in giving grief to Graham I think it is fair enough for her to voice her opinions.
It certainly is. I just thought her characterisation of what Graham wrote is unfair. He was at an event and he wrote about it. I have little idea of the politics of this world, but his description seems in line with everything else I've read about the event.
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…a prominent ANZ author…
Surely the production (and consumption) of poetry and short stories involves a far tinier clique than the NZ Post Book Awards. Fair enough for not wanting to play the game – most scientists and sportspeople also hate endless rounds of grant applications and publicity – but shitting on those who do make the effort seems a bit off.
[I did a small edit above. I don't want a scrap unfolding while I'm away from the keyboard. Let's all be nice. It's Friday. RB]
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Briefcase is a cracking read. How works of poetry do you know that feature a cross-examination about a thrown stapler?
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Sacha, in reply to
ANZers give f/a of a toss about writers et al
yet our book sales are amongst the highest in the world, aren't they?
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Chris Waugh, in reply to
yet our book sales are amongst the highest in the world, aren't they?
Unfortunately buying and reading books is not the same is giving a toss about our writers. We can be a strange and self-contradictory people that way, us Aotearoans.
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Islander, in reply to
et our book sales are amongst the highest in the world, aren't they?
And they are extremely heavily weighted towards overseas fiction and ANZ non-fiction.
And, I will reiterate, & thanks Chris W !- ANZers dont give a toss about writers (the number of people who wrote snide things about Margaret Mahy when she was booked for driving drunk was - nasty.)
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Sacha, in reply to
ANZ non-fiction
by writers, one presumes
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Islander, in reply to
et our book sales are amongst the highest in the world, aren't they?
And they are extremely heavily weighted towards overseas fiction and ANZ non-fiction.
And, I will reiterate, & thanks Chris W !- ANZers dont give a toss about writers (the number of people who wrote snide things about Margaret Mahy when she was booked for driving drunk was - nasty.)
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Sacha - a lot of it is ghost-written (sports biographies etc.) and a lot of it is from overseas and a lot of it is celeb crap, compilations of jokes etc. - yep, there are a few ANZ writers involved, especially in the cooking/fishing/sporting /hunting genres.
What is the difference between
a)a compiler
b)a reporter
c) a writer? Because I think you dont know- -
Sacha, in reply to
I think you dont know
your dismissiveness is noted
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Islander, in reply to
As it should be.
You are not any part of the very strange literary community of ANZ - and you cant assume to make expert comment on grounds of your expertise in other fields. -
Sacha, in reply to
I don't need in-depth expertise to raise basic questions like that in a discussion. Also probably more aware than you of that difference in digital realms. Pull your head in.
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Islander, I have no experience of the literary world, but I do know that here on PAS you are admired, respected, and loved. We are not your enemy.
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Islander, in reply to
Mate - tuck yours under your arse.
I know my fields - you do not.
You obviously did not realise that are several varieties of people who have books published - and not all of them are writers. -
Islander, in reply to
I never thought you were, Lilith - but I get really pissed off with assumptions various people here make.
I take my literary stuff VERY seriously (it is - along with family, friends & fishing, literally my life.)
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Sacha, in reply to
You obviously did not realise that are several varieties of people who have books published
You've made some assumptions, and we know what they say about those. Don't diminish your mana with petty attacks.
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