Words Chosen Carefully. New Zealand Writers in Discussion

by Siobhan Harvey (editor)

334 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Harvey was born in Staffordshire, England in 1973. She graduated from the University of London, Sheffield Hallam University (MA in Creative Writing, 2001) and Auckland University of Technology (PhD in Creative Writing, 2021).

Harvey’s fiction has been published in literary journals and anthologies, such as Asia Literary Review (Hong Kong), Griffith Review (Australia) and Best of Auckland (Writers Café, 2020). Her fiction won a 2016 Write Well Award (Silver Pen, US).

Her creative nonfiction has been published in Griffith Review (Australia), Landfall and the anthology Feminine Rising: Voices of Power and Invisibility (Cyren Press, 2019). She has been shortlisted for the Landfall Essay Competition on multiple occasions, including being placed runner up (2011) and third (2020).

Harvey’s poetry has been selected three times for Best New Zealand Poems series: 2012 (guest editor, Ian Wedde) 2020 (guest editor, David Eggleton) and 2022 (guest editor, Louise Wallace) and has been placed runner-up in 2015 and 2014 New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competitions, the 2012 Dorothy Porter Poetry Prize (Australia) and the 2012 Kevin Ireland Poetry Competition.

Harvey has served as the president of the New Zealand Society of Authors (2017–2019),[11] New Zealand’s National Poetry Day Coordinator (2008–2013) [12] and Poetry Editor, Takahē literary magazine (2007–2014).

Abridged from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well the words of these writers and their interviewers are chosen carefully. This work is sustenance for the writer’s soul. The book is a selection of NZs best writers interviewed about their work by writers or journalists. Having photos of each writer and each interviewer at the beginning and end of the interview ties it up nicely with a visual to complete our impression of each interview being something separate and whole . What is remarkable about this collection is the depth to which the interviewers take their writers. Each author sees his or her work in vastly different ways. The questions at times challenge the author with the external perception of their work. Some are quite intellectual and use literary criticism to describe and invoke their work. Others are more emotional and intuitive. Many of the authors have travelled a lot. I loved the global traveller slash writer that is Kapka Kassabova. A writer without borders. Similarly, Paula Morris has lived all over the world and likes to write of those places in her books. Elizabeth Knox is as fascinating as ever, especially her views on religion. She fluctuates between being a believer and believing in nothing at all. Her comments on the visions she sees had me envious at her openness. Peter Wells and his comment on homosexuality were so ahead of the times when he started writing. His focus on sexuality in many of his novels is possibly because of his own homosexuality. Being labelled as a gay writer, however, can be both liberating and confining for Wells .Charlotte Grimshaw has definite opinions. She has talks about her dislike of creative writing classes. Her love of Auckland and how that city inspires her. The fact that she comes from a famous literary family was not dwelt upon overly. There also appears to be conflict between editing, reviewing and writing creatively. Some of the writers comment that they do not like to spend too much time remarking on other author’s work to the detriment of their own work. However, some do acknowledge that by doing the reviewing of others their work improves. They can see how to write better. There is a definite sense of separateness between the authors. In their interviews there is some overlap in areas like point of view. Each interview is something of itself. No two alike. I think that is what makes it so compulsive. This book is something to dip in and out of. There is the challenge to somehow find connections between these distinct writers. What makes them or does not make them definitely New Zealand. I could go on as the material as it is so rich and diverse. I recommend anyone wanting to get a glimpse into a NZ writer’s soul to try this book.

[Belinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found some little gems in this book but all in all it bored me. I got a bit fed up with some of the pretentions of the writers. "This is why writers write." Is that so? Not just your opinion then?

I would've liked an exploration into the day to day workings of the writers, the domestic scene interfering with the process (let's face it, working from home can be lonely, easily interrupted by visitors who think that being home means you have loads of time), being stuck in an environment that demands some of your attention too (how to switch off to that?), even boredom.
When people read about writers they want to know about these things. What are the processes? How do they cope with rejection? How much editing do they do? Do they hang out for lunch by 11am?

I read some interviews but mostly ended up skimming through the questions to see which ones interested me and then read the answers. I have read other interviews with artists/writers books and enjoyed them a lot more. This was too dry for me.