James K. Baxter and John Ball: a note on the source of 'Letter to Piers Plowman'

Baxter's early poem 'Letter to Piers Plowman' includes references to characters known to us not from Langland's poem but from one of the letters of John Ball (Royal manuscript). This note identifies a likely source in which Baxter could have encountered this little-known political text.

'Sweetness and light belong to us’: The Maoriland Worker and Proletarian Poetics

Documenting the publication of poetry in The Maoriland Worker, this essay considers the place of poetry and poetics in the Worker’s history and its political project. What was the place of literature in the early years of the New Zealand labour movement? What sorts of texts circulated, and how were they received and interpreted by socialist journalists and critics? Combining quantitative analysis with close reading, this essay offers the Worker as a case study in early New Zealand labour movement literary culture.Correspondence about this article may be directed to Dougal McNeill at [email protected]

Reading Nowhere in Erewhon: Bellamy, Morris, and New Zealand

While scholars have discussed the success of Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward (1888) in New Zealand, its rival Utopia, William Morris' News from Nowhere (1890) has not received the same attention. This essay reads these two works' New Zealand reception together, and traces in this international sources for local literary culture.Correspondence about this article may be directed to the author at [email protected]

Touché. A note on R N Brett Illustrator, Cartoonist, Calligrapher, Artist

Robert Norman Brett was a significant cartoonist and illustrator in locally published journals and publications. His printing industry renown as a cartoonist is based on his contribution to the long defunct trade publication Inkling. As de facto resident illustrator at the Pegasus Press, he illustrated a substantial and varied body of publications, some dust wrappers and items for third parties. He was also a calligrapher and artist in several media. An appendix lists his known print-related works.

‘Rather a lot of death’: Misreading Lauris Edmond’s Late Song as an intentional last collection.

Ths article discusses the history of Lauris Edmond's posthumously published Late Song. It argues that editorial invention means that the work cannot be considered a final instalment of autobiography.

Young men have always wanted to rush into print: a note on Denis Glover's writings on typography

Denis Glover was a self-assessed expert on typography. This article reviews Glover’s education and training as a typographer and discusses his four accessible published articles. The article then assesses his contribution to the establishment of higher standards of type selection and use in the post-WWII period, particularly for book work. The 'new' typography he and others promoted is now the established typography.Lindsay Rollo, a retired one-time technical editor, is now an independent researcher.Correspondence about this article may be directed to the author at [email protected]

Glover’s and Fairburn’s Inklings

Denis Glover and ARD Fairburn each contributed three items to the long defunct trade house magazine Inkling: 1947– 51. The significance of the publication to New Zealand printing industry is discussed. The influence of the two authors in proselytising improved client relations and adopting higher standards of typography is assessed in the context of the literary nationalism that emerged in the late 1930s. Inkling was also an important vehicle for the illustrator and cartoonist Robert Brett.Lindsay Rollo, a retired one-time technical editor, is now an independent researcher.Correspondence about this article may be directed to the author at [email protected]

Historical Material in Maurice Gee's The Fire-Raiser

Award-winning New Zealand writer, Maurice Gee, has written five realistic novels for children, each set during a defining period in New Zealand history. This essay examines Gee’s use in The Fire-Raiser of historical material, particularly that related to Nelson Central School and its lively headmaster, F. G. Gibbs. Through his accurate reproduction of precise detail Gee vividly evokes small-town New Zealand during World War I. But Gee also adapts historical material in order to pursue his ideal of balance.Vivien van Rij is a lecturer in Victoria University's Faculty of Education, specialising in children's literature and literacy.Correspondence about this article may be directed to the author at [email protected]

Bethell’s “Leaves of Gold”: An Unpublished Poem

Ursula Bethell left a number of unpublished poems and fragments in her papers when she died which are now contained in her archive. They include an early work, extant in two copies, in which she translates ‘Les feuilles d’or’, a poem by a little-known Swiss poet, Henry Spiess. The translation was intended for a competition in The Westminster Gazette in 1904, but Bethell never submitted her entry. Spiess’s poem is clearly influenced by the French Symbolists; Bethell’s strikingly effective translation is sensitive to that influence and shows remarkable technical sophistication. In addition, it anticipates in many ways the major concerns of her first volume of poetry. The poem is published here for the first time, and its connections with Bethell’s mature work explored.Peter Whiteford is a Professor of English Literature at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.Correspondence about this article may be directed to the author at [email protected]