Not Memorable
OW that short stories complete with plots and trick endings have ceased to be published in the best magazines one sometimes wonders what has happened to all those disciples of O. Henry and H. H. Munro and even Somerset Maugham. Some of them perhaps write for the films, suffering their four-ounce baby of fiction to be nourished from the ever-flowing pens of Hollywood scriptwriters till the over-sized brat bears no resemblance to its original self. The rest, I have decided, write radio plays. This is regrettable, since there are no O, Henrys or Sakis or Somerset Maughams among them, and the surprise ending can usually be anticipated by even the least quick-witted radio listener, When one is reading a story, suspicions can be immediately verified, but in listening to a radio play (in which there is much more hanky-panky to be gone through) this is not possible. All this apropos of Gordon Daviot’s Remémber Caesat, which I heard from 2YA last Sunday. My only mistake lay in supposing Caesar to be a dog, whereas in actual fact (if one can use the term of an entirely fictitious production) he turned out to be a man. Let us hope that as far as this type of play is concerned the Ides of March will come.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19470530.2.18.3
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 414, 30 May 1947, Page 8
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216Not Memorable New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 414, 30 May 1947, Page 8
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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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