New Zealand Books in London

New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 776, 4 June 1954, Page 8

New Zealand Books in London

by PROFESSOR

IAN A.

GORDON

XHIBITIONS of things New Zealand are no novelty in central London. Our more obvious exports are well advertised and the English public is (very properly) kept well informed of the merits of our butter and our lamb. A few days ago there opened just off Piccadilly an exhibition of our less well publicised wares, several hundred books, written, printed and published in the Dominion. It remains open for a couple of months, and if the interest shown in the first few days keeps up at its present pace, New Zealand writers may look modestly forward to the day when they are as readily available in Charing Cross Road as on Lambton Quay. An exhibition of this type cannot make good writers into better writers; but it can bring our writers to a wider public, who are only too ready to give new names a trial. After that it is up to the writer himself. On the opening day, an auspicious start was given by Sir William Haley, now editor of The Times, and till recently Director-General of the BBC. He called on New Zealand writers to throw off the modesty which he felt they had too much showed in the past and cease to be apologetic about themselves or their country, and in declaring the exhibition open paid tribute to the high standard of printing and craftsmanship shown in recent publications. His graceful’ and complimentary opening has given a cue to newspaper comments, and the exhibition has had an excellent press. The organisers of the exhibition have been particularly gratified at the notices in the more responsible papers in London and outside. The Times, the Manchester Guardian, the Scotsman, and the Glasgow Herald have been united in its praise. It is over a year since the exhibition was first planned by the Advisory Com-

mittee of the New Zealand Literary Fund. The original plans were very modest-a show of some 30 books that had been sponsored by the Fund. The High Commissioner in London, Sir Frederick Doidge, willingly ‘agreed to hold the exhibition in the lounge of the offices in the Strand. At this point someone in the committee grew ambitious. Why confine the exhibition to a few dozen books? Why not make it a full exhibition of recent writing in New Zealand? Such an _ exhibition would overflow the modest limits of the Strand offices, but that was a problem that could wait. Publishers in the Dominion provided copies of volumes from their lists. The Department of Internal Affairs added a set of the now precious and unobtainable Centennial Surveys. A great case-load of books was loaded on the Rangitata-and an airmail letter sent off to say more would follow. English publishers provided books written by New Zealanders and published in London. Within a few months the exhibition of 30 had grown to 300. At this point the High Commissioner enlisted the help of the National Book League, in their room at Albemarle Street, past masters of book exhibitions, and it was there the exhibition opened. With his usual generosity, Rex Nan Kivell, the Director of the Redfern Galleries, and a New Zealander of great distinction in the world of art, gave us the free run of his remarkable collection of early prints and books, and when the exhibition was opened we were able to show the finest work of the Caxton Press side by side with the early printing of Colenso, and Art in New Zealand alongside lithographs from Heaphy originals. For New Zealanders in England the exhibition has been thoroughly —

exciting, but interest has spread well beyond their ranks, and many members of the National Book League, students, and the general public have been among the visitors. At the opening ceremony one fact emerged which astonished everyone present, including the organisers of the exhibition. This is the first exhibition of its kind to be organised in London by any country in the British Commonwealth. There have been book exhibitions to which Commonwealth countries have contributed, but for a complete and selfcontained exhibition the Dominion scores a modest first. What is, I think, important, is the nature of the books chosen. Apart from the _historical material, they are meant to represent run-of-the-mill publication in the country. It is very easy to, chose a few

selected books of high quality, well printed and beautifully bound. We have several of that type-fine bindings by the Government Printer and the Caxton Ancient Mariner. What the organising committee had in mind was something different, an exhibition of the ordinary work done in the country, both on the literary and the production side. . A special stand exhibits the books (now over 40) that have been sponsored by the Literary Fund, ranging from the Pegasus poets to Anthony Alper’s’ just

published Katherine Mansfield. These, and the operation of the Fund itself, have aroused considerable interest, and literary journals as diverse as John o’ London and The Times Literary Supplement have devoted space varying from a couple of columns to a_ full page article to a discussion of its merits, and according to the Supplement the exhibition "refutes the sceptics who hold that State patronage offers little encouragement for literature." As I write these words, the morning papers are carrying pictures of New Zealand lamb at Smithfield, and the British Industries Fair has opened at Earls Court and Olympia with a magnificent stand showing New Zealand wool. The country cousins have come to town with a justifiable pride in the produce that is the basis of their economy. But off Piccadilly the volumes of poetry and biography, the short stories and the novels, are a reminder that there is another side to the country. New Zealanders Reve always had a mind of their own, and the book exhibition is a timely and graceful reminder.