The Oxford Book of New Zealand Short Stories

by Vincent O'Sullivan (compiler)

This anthology presents 50 stories by over 40 of New Zealand's best writers. Nineteenth-century writing, which is largely unknown, is represented by Clara Cheeseman and G B Lancaster, as well as by the more familiar Lady Barker and itinerant Henry Lawson. In the early twentieth century Katherine Mansfield is followed by Greville Texidor as well as Frank Sargeson and Dan Davin. The middle years of the century exhibit a flowering of talent. Janet Frame, Maurice Duggan, and Maurice Gee are all fine practitioners of the genre, while Witi Ihimaera and Patricia Grace are the strong voices of Maori writing. The past dozen or so years have seen an explosion of new writing, with talents as diverse as Owen Marshall, Keri Hulme, Barbara Anderson, and Peter Wells. The selection provides an introduction to New Zealand short fiction that readers interestd in the new literatures in English will find stimulating and surprising. The stories are accompanied by brief biographical notes and a glossary of Maori words.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literature

462 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 1994

About the author

Vincent Gerard O’Sullivan, DCNZM was a New Zealand poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, critic and editor. He was the New Zealand Poet Laureate for the term 2013–2015.

He attended St Joseph's Primary, Grey Lynn, and Sacred Heart College. He graduated from the University of Auckland and Oxford University; he lectured at Victoria University of Wellington (1963–66) and the University of Waikato (1968–78).

He served as literary editor of the NZ Listener (1979–80).

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

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Reviews

[Don Fisk · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a New Zealander born in 1939 and who has spent his high school years in Hawera, the cultural memes illustrated in the short stories that Vince has selected strike me as SO TRUTHFUL, and so accurately, vividly and often endearingly portrayed. The stories are very short, but often quite moving. I thought i would read just a few eg Ronald Hugh Morrieson's "Cross my Heart and Cut my Throat", but stories by Maurice Shadbolt, Carl Stead, Frank Sargeson and many others are also a delight.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short stories, some of which I read with some pleasure during a trip to New Zealand.