NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 87, 21 February 1941, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE

Sir,-I was interested to read a letter by Isobel Andrews of Wellington in which she says, inter alia, that a sincere and resolute attempt at putting the New Zealand scene into words might accomplish much. In my opinion, the whole appeal of moralists like Thomas Hardy, Sir Walter Scott, Olive Schreiner and the Brontes lies in the faithfulness with which they have reproduced the familiar scene. Often these portrayals are so accurate that one can almost smell and hear the scents and: sounds of the particular landscape which the writer had in view. It is true that the writer in these casés writes best of those things which he knows and intimately understands. For this reason I think that young New Zealand writers who have real talent will, as a matter of course, use their native land as a background for their work, and thus in time, give us a truly distinctive national literature. New Zealand is a new country, and for that very reason its opportunities are endless. So far we have been reared almost exclusively on the finest examples of English literature. No one would be so foolish as to deny that this is not a great inheritance, but it seems strange that as yet, the pungent atmosphere of our own country has not been more adequately captured.

For that which we wish the future to hold, we must begin to build now. No nation ever became great without the severest mental labour and the most arduous physical toil. Those who most bewail the lack of artistic pursuits in this country are the first to suspect anything with the New Zealand stamp upon it. This is a grave mistake that if persisted in, will destroy what little originality we possess now. Among my own acquaintances I number several young aspirants to literary expression whose talent is real. They make a "sincere and resolute attempt at putting the New Zealand scene into words," but they accomplish little, because editors are few, and it appears that the New Zealand scene is distasteful to them. There are pens in this country only too eager to write, musicians who would rush to their instruments at the slightest invitation, and brushes that palpitate for paint. Are there any reasons why New Zealanders should not develop their own possibilities, and, if so, what are these reasons? Why is not more encouragement forthcoming?

SADI

(Hamilton).

(Abridged.- Ed ).