Plume of Bees: a Literary Biography of CK Stead
by Judith Dell Panny
Cape Catley, $40 Judith Dell Panny has proved to be a literary detective in Plume of Bees: A Literary Biography of C. K. Stead. After an initial interview, she has relied on Stead’s publications, lectures, interviews, and letters to Sargeson and Curnow. Panny revisits Stead’s remarkable body of fiction, poetry and critical writing. This unauthorised, balanced work considers the temperament and the influences that have contributed to his talent, exploring reasons for the extremes of his reputation. Consequences have followed from his refusal to be politically correct, his critical reviews of fellow New Zealand authors and the devastating wit with which he has retaliated when under attack. The implications become apparent in a literary biography described by Terry Locke as “immensely readable”.
Can be ordered from www.capecatleybooks.co.nz |
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