Standing Room Only for Sunday 24 November 2019

 

12:36 From Abbey Road to Masterton - publisher David Hedley

Last week the death of Terry O'Neill, photographer of Swinging Sixties London, gained headlines and nostalgic stories all round the world.

Terry was one of a handful of superstar photographers of the time - David Bailey, Terence Donovan, Robert Freeman and Michael Cooper.

If Michael Cooper did nothing else, he'd have found a place in popular culture history as the man who photographed Sergeant Pepper for the gatefold album cover.

But Keith Richards' old flat-mate did a lot more before dying tragically young, by his own hand, in 1973.  He'd been planning a book featuring his huge collection of images.  And when it finally came out, it was thanks to a publisher as far away from Swinging London as its possible to get.  Simon Morris talks with Masterton's David Hedley, co-publisher of Blinds and Shutters with Genesis Publications.   He discovers this is by no means David's first brush with the Beatles.

And if you've got a spare 1800 dollars or so, you can pick up one of the final 600 copies of Blinds and Shutters - the photographs of Michael Cooper - at the Karen Walker Hedley Pop Up shop at Auckland's Britomart, or at Hedley Books in Masterton before its international release.
 

12:50 Harry Ricketts and the end of the New Zealand Review of Books

One year short of its 30th anniversary of publishing long-form book reviews and opinion pieces, Creative New Zealand''s decision to stop funding it means the New Zealand Review of Books Pukapuka Aotearoa's next publication will be its last.  It also leaves the fate of the on-line archive section in limbo.

CNZ has made big changes to its arts grant applications which we've already reported on.   

The Review of Books' co-editors and publishers Peppercorn Press have yet to be given a reason for the end of its funding after 29 years.  The Summer issue, the 128th edition, comes out next month.  

For more information, go to the Facebook page.

A Givealittle page is intended to fundraise for final expenses and for help with ongoing maintenance of online sites.

Lynn Freeman talks to Co-Editor Harry Ricketts.

 

After the interview went to air, a Creative New Zealand spokesperson replied:

Creative New Zealand has not made a decision to stop funding The New Zealand Review of Books.  The Peppercorn Press, which publishes The New Zealand Review of Books, made an application to Arts Grants and that application was not successful on that occasion.   However, this does not prevent them from applying in future.

On Friday (22 November) Creative New Zealand reached out to Peppercorn Press to offer a meeting to provide feedback and to discuss their options.

Creative New Zealand did not turn down The Verb Literary Festival for funding as the 2019 Festival was funded through the 1^st Arts Grants round in 2019. The Verb Literary Festival did not apply to the most recent Arts Grant round.

 

1:10 At The Movies

Simon Morris reviews Charlie's Angels, Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Ford versus Ferrari.

1:31  Cat Ruka

Christchurch is about to host its first Tiny Festival, squeezing a programme of performances and talks all into 14 hours.

Guest speaker at the Ōtautahi Tiny Performance Festival on Saturday is the recently appointed Artistic Director of Tempo Dance Festival, Cat Ruka.  Cat also mentors young dancers, working with the youth organisation, Ngā Rangatahi Toa in Auckland. 

She'll be using her time behind the microphone at the Festival on Saturday to question why there's so much emphasis these days on innovation in the arts.  She argues that those who quietly maintain and sustain what already exists are no less important.

"Do we really need to innovate and if so - who for?" is the name of her talk.  Cat's own dancing and choreography have often been described as boundary-pushing and innovative.   So Lynn Freeman asked her why she feels so strongly about this issue.

Cat Ruka will be speaking at the Ōtautahi Tiny Performance Festival on Saturday at Coca (Centre of Contemporary Art) in Christchurch.

 

1:44  Rose Lu

Wellington writer Rose Lu examines big issues - the migrant experience, gender, mental health and class - through the lens of intimate personal stories in her first collection of essays, All Who Live on Islands. 

We meet Rose's family, three generations of Chinese migrants all with strong personalities and opinions.  For some, New Zealand is home, while many of the elder family members still yearn for China.  

In All Who Live on Islands, Rose also writes about her work as a software developer, trekking in Nepal and friendship.

There are also forthright essays about sex, sexuality and mental health - issues, Rose says, that are too often not talked about in Chinese families.

Lynn Freeman asked Rose Lu if she had to really think about inviting strangers into her and her family's life:

All Who Live On Islands by Rose Lu is published by Victoria University Press.
 

2:06 The Laugh Track - actress Goretti Chadwick

Goretti Chadwick is a Samoan-New Zealand writer, director, tutor and actress on stage, TV and film.  She's a familiar face on TV sitcom Mean Mums and movies like Sione's Wedding and Vermillion.  But her claim to true comedy fame rests as half of the outrageous duo Pani and Pani on the Maori TV series Game of Bros.  

Right now Goretti is appearing in another confronting project, Victor Rodger's black comedy at Wellington's Circa Theatre Uma Lava.   Goretti Chadwick is today's guest on the Laugh Track.   Her picks include two episodes of Between Two Ferns, featuring Bradley Cooper and Steve Carrell, an unusual version of Chariots of Fire, featuring a melodica, and an excruciating "shred" of the vocal group Fifth Harmony.

2:26  Liz Breslin

Every hour a lone trumpeter plays from the highest tower of Kraków's Saint Mary's Basilica.  The noon performance is broadcast via radio to all of Poland and the world.

During her two months in the Polish UNESCO city of literature on a writers' residency, Liz Breslin became fascinated by the story of the trumpeter.

The writer, editor and performer based in Hawea Flat headed off in September for Poland, with firm plans to make the most of the opportunity.

Lynn Freeman asked Liz if Kraków was what she'd anticipated it would be like?

 

 

2:38  Kirsty Powell

True stories of the families of the World War One soldiers who settled in the wild and isolated Mangapurua Valley above Whanganui's Bridge to Nowhere, are woven into the debut novel by Kirsty Powell . 

The bridge was built in the Mangapurua Valley in 1936 by hopeful pioneering families but the long deserted settlement is now part of a national park. 

Kirsty's book The Strength of Eggshells tells the stories of three generations of women, each of them emotionally wounded.  They include Kate Whyte, adopted at birth from a young woman who was a patient at the former Kingseat psychiatric hospital.  Kirsty Powell talks to Lynn Freeman about their experiences.

The Strength of Eggshells by Kirsty Powell is published by Cloud Ink.

2:49 David Rickard

Drumsticks hand carved from a New Zealand mangrove tree and a Spanish olive tree are among the artworks in expat David Rickard's first solo exhibition in New Zealand.

It also includes footage of David climbing the Swiss Alps carrying a large metal sphere with a camera inside, that he then releases to tumble back down the mountain.

David Rickard left New Zealand for Europe in his early twenties and has gone on to create multi-media art installations that often involve collaboration between artists across the globe.

Echoes from the Sound Barrier is the name of his exhibition in his home town of Ashburton. 

When he spoke with Lynn Freeman a few days ago he was on a road trip collecting more material for one of the installations in the exhibition:

Echoes from the Sound Barrier opens on 28 November at the Ashburton Art Gallery.
 

3:06 Drama at 3 - Piccole Storie by Craig Thaine

The play is set in Italy at the end of the Second World War and in Christchurch in the early 1950's. 

It's a very personal tale that touches on the attitudes and social conditions that made it so difficult for many of our returning soldiers to share the truth of their experiences, both good and bad, at the battlefront.

And a word of warning about some of the language and the sometimes graphic descriptions of violence in this play. Parental guidance is recommended.
 

Music played in this show

Artist: Beatles
Song: Penny Lane
Composer: Lennon-McCartney
Album: Magical Mystery Tour
Label: Parlophone
Played at: 12.32

Artist: Beatles
Song: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Composer: Lennon-McCartney
Album: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Label: Parlophone
Played at: 12.36

Artist: Miles Davis
Song: So what
Composer: Davis
Album: Kind of Blue
Label: Sony
Played at: 12.58

Artist: Sly and the Family Stone
Song: I want to take you higher
Composer: Stewart
Album: Stand 
Label: Epic
Played at: 1.07

Artist: Louis Armstrong
Song: C'est si bon
Composer: Betti-Hornez
Album: My Greatest Songs
Label: MCA
Played at: 1.41

Artist: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Song: Ballacki Bone
Composer: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Album: Music is your radar
Label: Uncut
Played at: 1.58

Artist: Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
Song: Trumpet Voluntary
Composer: Clarke
Album: Weekend classics
Label: Decca
Played at: 2.04

Artist: Love
Song: Alone again or
Composer: MacLean
Album: Forever changes
Label: Elektra
Played at: 2.35

Artist: Beirut
Song: Postcards from Italy
Composer: Condon
Album: Gulag Orkestra
Label: Badabing
Played at: 2.58

Artist: Hopetoun Brown
Song: The Melter
Composer: Stewart-Atkinson
Album: Burning Fuse
Label: Private
Played at: 3.58