Aotearoa — New Zealand

Abstract

This chapter focuses initially on the background and historical context of writing by Pakeha (white settler) and Maori women. Early settler writing was pioneering, like that of Canadian and Australian women (Chapters 11 and 9). This led to rather refined romance, and genre writing. Notable among early white New Zealand authors is Katherine Mansfield, and among contemporary writers the internationally acclaimed Janet Frame. Writing by Maori women only came into prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly after the Booker Prize success of Keri Hulmé s The Bone People (1984). Work by Mansfield, Frame, Hulme, Patricia Grace and other contemporary women writers is considered here, largely concentrating on their treatment of women’s roles and constraints, on issues of establishing and maintaining gendered and ethnic identity.KeywordsShort StoryHumpback WhaleWoman WriterWhite SettlerDark PoolThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.