WELCOME TO LONDON

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 32, 6 August 1936, Page 8

WELCOME TO LONDON

MR. JOHANNES ANDERSEN

A MEETING WITH AUTHORS

(From "Tne Post's" Representative.) LONDON, July 8.

A cordial welcome to England was given Mr. Johannes Andersen, Librarian at the "Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, by Mr. H. G. Wells, the famous author, at a dinner held by the P.E.N. Club, 'of which Mr. Wells is president, on the day after Mr. Andersen arrived from New Zealand. Mr. Wells regretted that their New Zealand visitor could not stay longer than three weeks in England, but he hoped that Mr. Andersen would take away with him the warmest memories of the English authors whom he would meet. Mr. Andersen, who is accompanied by his wife, arrived in England on July 6 after an uneventful voyage round the Cape Horn. He has a full programme to fulfil before sailing on August 15 for Buenos Aires, where, as an honorary member of the English P.E.N. Club, he will represent New Zealand at a conference of P.E.N. delegates. . .. : ■ . - While he is in England Mr. Andersen will attend the Historians' 'Conference, representing the Polynesian Society and the New Zealand Government archives. He has also arranged to meet Mr. H. Beasley, of Chislehurst, a noted English collector of New Zealand artifacts and Maori carvings, Mr. W. CVOldham,: of .London, who has an extensive collection of Polynesian artifacts, Mr. Thomas A. Wise,, another English collector, and Mr. Buxton Forman, editor of the Keats Letters. In addition, he will spend' some time at . the British Museum. His intention; of course, is to collect information for the Turnbull Library. Before sailing for South America he will pay a short visit to Denmark and Holland. Mr: Andersen ■proposes to leave Buenos Aires after the conference on September 14, and to proceed up the coast of South America to Panama, where he will link up with a boat travelling to New Zealand. He expects to arrive home towards the end of October. GUEST'S DINNER SPEECH. Speaking at the P.E.N. dinner, at which he was one of the guests of honour, Mr. Andersen said he would be glad to get back to New Zealand, not because he did riot like England, but because he knew what a very good country New Zealand was. In making a reference to, its authors, he told P.E.N. members that the Dominion had had more books-written about it in proportion to its size than any other country in the world, for it offered a wealth of subjects about which to write, and those people who said that New Zealand had no history could know nothing about the country. Most of its authors had written for New Zealanders, but latterly several had branched out in an attempt to write for an outside public, among whgm Katherine Mansfield was well known. Prior to leaving for England, said Mr. Andersen, he had compiled a list of the books written by New. Zealanders, and had been amazed by its Size. The quality of their work. was surprisingly good, and it was pure literature, with none of the Edgar Wallace "type." (This remark caused some laughter and a few humorous cries of "Shame!"). : "I admit that' Edgar Wallace wrote thrilling and interesting books,". Mr. Andersen went on, "but would you say they constituted literature?" '• ... When the hubbub had died away, he said that he was delighted to be in England and to have the opportunity of meeting authors well known in New Zealand—a great reading, country. It afforded him particular pleasure to meet Mr. Wells. In a short reply, Mr. Wells assured Mr. Andersen that P.E.N. members fully appreciated the value of the contributions by New Zealand to the intellectual life of the English-speaking community. One after another of its writers had been robbed by England, including one of the greatest caracaturists in the world, David Low. : There were so many other writers that he would hesitate to attempt to compile a complete list.showing England's debt to New Zealand. He wished that Mr. Andersen' could reconsider his decision of staying only three weeks in "our unfortunate little island," but he hoped that before their guest left he would count many English authors and writers among his friends, and would take the warmest memories of them back to New Zealand.