Recommendations

I will be moving to New Zealand in June. I hope to get a job in publishing and have some of my own work published. To see what the market is, I've been reading tons of books from NZ authors.

I really love NZ works. It started last year when I was studying at the University of Waikato and I took an entry level NZ literature paper. In the class, we read Katherine Mansfield, Frank Sargeson, Ursula Bethell, Witi Ihimeara, and several other Kiwi and Pacific authors, poets and playwrights. I fell in love with it. The older stuff was good (Mansfield has some pretty good stuff) but it still didn't feel completely Kiwi. It wasn't until I got to Sargeson and Ihimeara that I really fell. Their work is so distinctive, so different than any European, British or American author I've read.

The thing that fascinates me most about Sargeson are his short stories. And I mean short. "Conversation with my Uncle" is only two pages long, but it has so much in those two pages. (I'm writing this from memory.) The details in things like the uncle's hard knocker his wife makes him wear, the detective stories he reads, the shiny knees of his trousers all point out aspects of his character. The extremely constricted form of a two page story makes Sargeson's stories very economical, almost taciturn, and a wealth of information in a few words.

Ihimeara is amazing in his approach to change in traditions and yet staying true to them. Just look at The Whalerider. He has a female protagonist (Kahu), she's young, and challenges so many parts of traditional Maori culture while at the same time respecting them.

They both use really innovative ways to tell their stories. I've found this in many NZ authors I've read, especially the more recent ones. A few of the books I've really liked are Keri Hulme's The Bone People, the collections of short stories titles Where's Waari?, and Poppy's Progress by Pat Rosier.

I'm trying to find more NZ authors too read, but that's a bit tough to do in Midwest USA. Any suggestions?

First Post

How original a title, I know.

I have another blog, but as I am graduating this year I figured I would start a more professional one and see where it takes me. This is that journey.

I suppose a bit about myself is in order, or out of order as the case may be.

My name is Erin. Nice to meet you. I am graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a degree in English, focusing on Literature, Language and Culture. I've studied at the Universities of Minnesota Duluth and Waikato in New Zealand and the College of St. Catherine.

My username is a bit mad but there is method! It's quite a simple one too. Some of my friends nicknamed me Hobbit after my fascination with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The traveling comes in because I love to travel.

In this blog I hope to do just what the title says: post some of my own writings, write my thoughts on other authors and articles I read, and the randoms will probably be about anything.

Well, that's about it for now.