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The expatriate myth : New Zealand writers and the colonial world / Helen Bones.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Dunedin, New Zealand : Otago University Press, 2018Description: 248 pages ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781988531175
  • 1988531179
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • PR9626.2 .B664 2018
Contents:
Introduction: A lost generation -- Literary culture in New Zealand -- Making the Waitematā smoke -- The Tasman writing world -- From a garden in the Antipodes : the colonial writing world -- Future or exile? : reactions to 'overseas' writing and writers -- New Zealand writers and the modern world -- "The whole thing's been a farce" : New Zealand writers in London and overseas -- Setting the Thames on fire -- Concluding thoughts.
Summary: Many New Zealand writers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century travelled extensively or lived overseas for a time, and they often led very interesting lives. The received wisdom is that they were forced to leave these colonial backblocks in search of literary inspiration and publishing opportunities. In The Expatriate Myth, Helen Bones presents a challenge to this conventional understanding, based on detailed historical and empirical research. Was it actually necessary for them to leave to find success? How prevalent was expatriatism among New Zealand writers? Did their experiences fit the usual tropes about expatriatism and exile? Were they fleeing an oppressive society lacking in literary opportunity? In the field of literary studies, scholars are often consumed with questions about 'national' literature and 'what it means to be a New Zealander'. And yet many of New Zealand's writers living overseas operated in a transnational way, taking advantage of colonial networks in a way that belies any notion of a single national allegiance. Most who left New Zealand, even if they were away for a time, continued to write about and interact with their homeland, and in many cases came back. In this fascinating and clear-sighted book, Helen Bones offers a fresh perspective on some hoary New Zealand literary chestnuts.
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Non-Fiction Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction Non-Fiction 820.9 BON Available T00805424
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Many New Zealand writers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century traveled extensively or lived overseas for a time. In The Expatriate Myth , Helen Bones presents a challenge to this conventional understanding that writers had to leave in order to find literary inspiration and publishing opportunities. Was it actually necessary for them to leave to find success? How prevalent was expatriatism among New Zealand writers? Did their experiences fit the usual tropes about expatriatism and exile? Were they fleeing an oppressive society lacking in literary opportunity? In the field of literary studies, scholars are often consumed with questions about 'national' literature and 'what it means to be a New Zealander'. And yet many of New Zealand's writers living overseas operated in a transnational way, taking advantage of colonial networks in a way that belies any notion of a single national allegiance. Most who left New Zealand continued to write about and interact with their homeland, and in many cases came back. In this fascinating and clear-sighted book, Helen Bones offers a fresh perspective on some hoary New Zealand literary chestnuts.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: A lost generation -- Literary culture in New Zealand -- Making the Waitematā smoke -- The Tasman writing world -- From a garden in the Antipodes : the colonial writing world -- Future or exile? : reactions to 'overseas' writing and writers -- New Zealand writers and the modern world -- "The whole thing's been a farce" : New Zealand writers in London and overseas -- Setting the Thames on fire -- Concluding thoughts.

Many New Zealand writers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century travelled extensively or lived overseas for a time, and they often led very interesting lives. The received wisdom is that they were forced to leave these colonial backblocks in search of literary inspiration and publishing opportunities. In The Expatriate Myth, Helen Bones presents a challenge to this conventional understanding, based on detailed historical and empirical research. Was it actually necessary for them to leave to find success? How prevalent was expatriatism among New Zealand writers? Did their experiences fit the usual tropes about expatriatism and exile? Were they fleeing an oppressive society lacking in literary opportunity? In the field of literary studies, scholars are often consumed with questions about 'national' literature and 'what it means to be a New Zealander'. And yet many of New Zealand's writers living overseas operated in a transnational way, taking advantage of colonial networks in a way that belies any notion of a single national allegiance. Most who left New Zealand, even if they were away for a time, continued to write about and interact with their homeland, and in many cases came back. In this fascinating and clear-sighted book, Helen Bones offers a fresh perspective on some hoary New Zealand literary chestnuts.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Acknowledgements (p. 7)
  • Introduction: A lost generation? (p. 9)
  • Chapter 1 Literary culture in New Zealand (p. 23)
  • Chapter 2 Making the Waitemata smoke (p. 41)
  • Chapter 3 The Tasman writing world (p. 57)
  • Chapter 4 From a Garden in the Antipodes: The colonial writing world (p. 73)
  • Chapter 5 Failure or exile? Reactions to 'overseas' writing and writers (p. 95)
  • Chapter 6 New Zealand writers and the modern world (p. 115)
  • Chapter 7 'The whole thing's been a farce': New Zealand writers in London and overseas (p. 137)
  • Chapter 8 Setting the Thames on fire (p. 153)
  • Concluding thoughts (p. 177)
  • Notes (p. 185)
  • Bibliography (p. 223)
  • Index (p. 237)

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