Black Magic
OME nice problems in the lore of black magic were raised in Superstition, a play by Richard Armstrong, dealing with a ship that was cursed. Whether a run of bad luck can be attributed to the maledictions of an old woman who curses a ship in a mistaken belief that her son has been drowned; whether a subsequent succession of deaths is due to coincidence or not; these, although they form the plot, are not the main points proven by the play. The author, I think, was more concerned with stressing the mental effect of superstitious beliefs on the person who holds them, and the infectious power of superstition to spread its by-products of anger, fear, and uncertainty among credulous and sceptical alike. This aspect of superstition was .stressed in the play by the widely divergent characters, exemplifying a variety of attitudes from whistling unconcern to nerve-straining anxiety. The play, well produced by the NZBS production unit, successfully made its point and then left the listener abruptly at the climax with the unsolved problem still unanswered: Was the curse effective. or not? /
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 484, 1 October 1948, Page 9
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184Black Magic New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 484, 1 October 1948, 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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