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A pioneering generation of writers raised after the Second World War have founded the rich diverse literary landscape that we have today. A dozen of them are the subject of a new book telling their own stories of their lives, published by Massey university Press. The Writing Life is an oral history project in which writers ranging from Witi ihimeara to Joy Cowley, Patricia Grace to Vincent O'Sullivan speak frankly about their own life journeys, the challenges and the opportunities. The book features some rather beautiful portraits by photographer John McDermott. We're joined by the author oral historian Deborah Shepard and one of those rather special writers Tessa Duder.
On Thursday November 8th, Unity hosted a lunchtime discussion between author Deborah Shepard, Massey University Press publisher Nicola Legat, Dame Fiona Kidman, and Patricia Grace about Shepard’s new book The Writing Life: Twelve New Zealand Authors. Shepard conducted interviews with twelve of New Zealand’s greatest living authors, including Grace and Kidman, about their lives, careers, and the art of writing itself. Patricia Grace read a poem by the seminal poet, Hone Tuwhare, as it was one of the first pieces of literature she loved and was an inspiration for her to become a writer. Fiona Kidman read a moving poem about her late husband Ian. All three remarked on Shepard’s candour, respect, and passion as a writer, emphasising how wonderful their experience was working with Shepard to produce this remarkable book. The Writing Life: Twelve New Zealand Authors by Deborah Shepard, $50.00, is available for purchase in store or online here. Article Source: http://unitybooks.nz/counterculture/afterglow-the-writing-life-twelve-new-zealand-authors-by-deborah-shepard/ Date: Thursday, 15 November, 2018
Time: 6:00pm to 7:00pm Cost: Free. You don't need to book. Location: Tiakiwai Seminar Room, Lower Ground floor, National Library, corner Molesworth and Aitken Streets. Entrance on Aitken Street. Contact Details: events.natlib@dia.govt.nz Join Deborah Shepard to hear her account of the genesis of the book The Writing Life. The book began with an oral history project for the New Zealand Society of Authors, that was funded by an Award in Oral History in 2015. The history project was to record the stories of senior members of the New Zealand literary community:
WHEN: Thursday 8 November 12pm
WHERE: Unity Books, 57 Willis St, Wellington Join Unity Books & Massey University Press for a lunchtime event! Deborah Shepard in conversation with her publisher Nicola Legat, and with readings by Dame Fiona Kidman and Patricia Grace. All Memoirists and life writers who have attended Deborah’s courses, or follow her work are invited to the launch of The Writing Life: Twelve New Zealand Authors.
WHEN: Tuesday 6 November, 6pm WHERE: Auckland Central Library, level two Words Will Work: South Auckland Writers Festival 26 - 27 October
WHEN: Saturday 27 O October 9:00 AM - 10:30AM WHERE: Conference Room, Mangere East Community Centre, 372 Massey Road Limited places. Memoir is the ideal genre for people young and old, to discover their writing voice because this is your story, you know it best. You have the skills to express your experience in your own words. On this workshop with experienced teacher Deborah Shepard, you will be introduced to techniques that will assist you to unlock your creative voice in a safe and friendly environment. The session will also include a talk on the joy of writing memoir, a definition of memoir and an introduction to a reading list including excerpts from some of the great autobiographies and memoirs. There will also be a writing exercise: 'A defining childhood memory'. Identify key writing strengths and continue developing those skills through journaling.
We are living through increasingly turbulent times, in an age awash in digital content that is often edifying and conducive to creativity but equally, it can be disruptive to concentration and to maintaining a calmer and more contemplative mode of living. This journalling workshop presented by an experienced tutor and journaler Deborah Shepard offers a quiet sanctuary where you can reconnect with your inner life and find out what you are thinking through writing exercises, and discussion and analysis of the form with reference to some of the great journalers. WHEN: 4 x Saturday 9, 16, 23 and 30 June, 9:30am-2:00pm WHERE: The University of Auckland COST: $310.00 incl. GST Writing memoir involves an intricate interplay between writing down and preserving your own memories and constructing biographical accounts of the people, including the ancestors, who have left an imprint on your life. On this course, you will receive tuition on the fundamentals of writing memoir and biography and its ethical implications along with techniques that will assist you to write with flair and originality about the key figures, both living and from the past, who have influenced and helped shape your life. It is suitable for participants who have not yet completed Life Writing 1. WHEN: 5 mornings, Monday 9 - Friday 13 July, 9:30am - 1:00pm WHERE: The University of Auckland, Building No. 810, 1-11 Short Street, City Campus COST: $310.00 incl. GST Limited to 15 participants  Everybody has the skills to write their life story. Life Writing with Deborah Shepard is designed for people who have never written before and participants who already enjoy writing in other genres and want to try memoir.
Under Deborah’s gentle guidance you will experience a summer writing school like no other. You will have five blissful days to indulge your dream and write your heart out in a collaborative and supportive environment. WHEN: 5 mornings, Monday 15 - Friday 19 January, 9:30am - 1:00pm WHERE: The University of Auckland, Building No. 810, 1-11 Short Street, City Campus COST: $300.00 incl. GST Limited to 15 participants  Writers at work On the final evening of the 2016 Master Classes in Memoir, at the Michael King Writers Centre, I sat in the sitting room, beneath the portrait of New Zealand historian and biographer Michael King by Annette Isbey, and observed nine writers, their heads bowed in concentration, hands moving swiftly across the white page, writing with the timer on, fifteen minutes only, writing rapidly, as I have trained them to do, free of the censor judging their work, because they know that when the timer rings there will be additional time, immediately, to edit what they have just written.
The only sounds in the room were the rubbing of pens over paper and the fridge humming in the kitchen next door. Below in the garden mutabilis roses were still flowering in May amongst the pale purple and lilac velvet flowers of salvia Leucantha and the spikes of orange and pink dahlias while over the sweep of grass, above the road that winds down the volcanic cone of Takarunga, I could see the city shining across the slick of black water that is Waitemata harbour at night. Again and again I feel the magic of this special setting. |
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April 2020
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