Sir,-Some of your correspondents (notably D.F.T., Auckland, and one Hunt, of Tauranga), in attacking my recent article, reveal a complete lack of appreciation of "atmosphere" and "colour.".. They. worship the letter, not
the spirit, of everything they read, and know nothing of literary licence. Like the traditional pedant, they wait, vulturelike, pencil poised, for their prey, eager to seize on some minor and inconsequential solecism about which your average reader wouldn’t care two hoots. What matter if Caesar was born 40 years after the Third Punic War? Why waste time, ink, and your valuable space in correcting an obvious slip, or are your correspondents merely trying to impress us with their omniscience? My point is that a penny’orth of atmosphere, plus reader interest, is better than a pound’s worth. of pernickety, — pinpricking
pedantry.
C.
T.
(Auckland)
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19460308.2.13.3
Bibliographic details
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 350, 8 March 1946, Page 5
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136Untitled New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 350, 8 March 1946, Page 5
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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.
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