Language Plain
= [LANGUAGE is a solemn thing. It grows out of life, out of its agonies and ecstasies, its wants and its weariness." «Though the words are the same for all of us, language is personal and hardly susceptible of imitation. Hearing Robert Gibbings read from his book "Lovely is the Lee" I despair, envious of the graceful flow that moulds words into pictures, and tunes the mind to a gentle music, His voice is no polished suave tone, yet its very roughness has character, character that gives intimacy to his speech, makes truth of fancy and clothes fact with the texture of imagination. There is nothing ornate in his style, he does not need to invoke the assistance of the less familiar paths of vocabulary to give his thoughts meaning. His tale follows Cowper’s recipe. It is "judicious, clear, succinct; the language plain, and incidents well linked."
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19451221.2.18.8
Bibliographic details
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 339, 21 December 1945, Page 9
Word count
Tapeke kupu
148Language Plain New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 339, 21 December 1945, Page 9
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
Copyright in the Denis Glover serial Hot Water Sailor published in 1959 is owned by Pia Glover. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this serial and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the Listener. You can search, browse, and print this serial for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Pia Glover for any other use.
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