LITERARY PRIZEGIVINGS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 41, Issue 1054, 6 November 1959, Page 11

LITERARY PRIZEGIVINGS

Sir-The article "Literary Prizegivings" by Joan Stevens, published in your October 16 issue, will have been read with great interest by a wide audience. Miss Stevens has given a very valuable review of literary prizes; in particular those which apply to New Zealand. For too long has too little been known about them and it is a matter for concern that complete records have not been kept. From my own desk I was able to supply some of the names of early winners in the Jessie Mackay Poetry competition simply because, as Vice-President in New Zealand of the British Poetry Society, I had recorded information about our poets. Unfortunately, I destroyed copies of the actual poems quite recently and it would appear that these earlier manuscript-form winning poems have not been recorded suitably in association with this important award. It is obvious that our literary records have had rather haphazard treatment. This must be rectified before it is too late. We are indebted to Miss Stevens for her valuable article and the points she makes must not be forgotten. This brings me to the subject of your editorial "A Question of Values." After carefully pondering the very good points made, I find I must disagree with the all-over impression that the Press and the public are not interested in literary achievement in New Zealand. On the contrary they are very interested and I do not feel the comparison between monetary awards for such achievement and spectacular "windfalls" from Lady Luck is quite apposite. The fault lies in the failure of our writers to shake off the gown and know what goes on in the town. For good publicity our journalists are valuable but little effort is made to seek their co-operation or goodwill. For too long our writing affairs have been shrouded in mystery. I myself still know very little about the achievement prize awarded Ruth France. This presumably comes from the State Literary Fund. Evidently it is time the New Zealand Women Writers’ Society had a representative on the Literary Fund Committee. By the very nature of this

organisation it has a very important contribution to make to writers. No one could accuse the Press or the public of minimising the value of the Katherine Mansfield Award results. With less imaginative planning these too might have been tucked away in a corner and the public would have missed sharing an exciting event. As to inclusion of New Zealand writers in Honours Lists, the procedure is for names to be forwarded through some organisation with suitable recommendations. Has this been done by a writers’ organisation in New Zealand in the past? If not, this probably accounts for the non-inclusion of our writers.

MARGARET

KELLY

(Wellington).