Give Me Your Answer, Do

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 485, 8 October 1948, Page 8

Give Me Your Answer, Do

HE radio event of the week for Wellington listeners was definitely the Monday night discussion between the two leading lions of New Zealand literature on "The New Zealand Writer and His Craft." Sparks, but no fur, flew, and the "I-don’t-agree-with-that-at-all" were frequent and impulsive, The two participants could net have been better chosen, since both approached the writer’s craft from different angles, Dan Davin, the Exported Brain parexcellence, and Frank Sargeson, the contented repatriate-Mr, Davin, happily (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) expressing himself, and Mr. Sargeson, with a well-trained weather-eye on his public and his duty to it. Actually, of course, the discussion got no nearer to resolving the New Zealand artist’s dilemma of having his roots in one place end his intellectual stimulus in another, but it was heartening to listeners to find that either choice could lead. to the successful conclusions represented by the two protagonists, though disconcerting to discover that Mr, Sargeson thought himself regarded as a freak rather than as an object of almost nation-wide reverence. Listeners found themselves a little out of their depth in such topics as The Writer as Saint, end The Writer as Community Conscience, but whenever deep waters tended to run still the chairman was ready; to turn. the attention of his charges to livelier and less metaphysical topics.