Local authors reinvent classic NZ short stories

By Helen Tristram

The short stories of New Zealand literary icon Katherine Mansfield have received a monstrous make-over from Kāpiti authors Debbie and Matt Cowens.

Their collection of reworked stories from Wellington publisher Steam Press titled “Mansfield with Monsters” contains 17 classic tales by New Zealand’s most famous short story author.

Vampires, werewolves, zombies …and more

The stories, say the Cowens, have been ‘revamped’ to include vampires, werewolves, Martian tripods, zombies, sea monsters and other sinister creatures.

It’s just been launched at the Kapiti Coffee House at Paraparaumu Beach.

“We’ve developed a deeper appreciation for Mansfield’s writing,” says Matt. “There’s a huge variety in her work, and it was a pleasure building on the horror elements already present.”

It’s not the first time the couple have collaborated on a project. Together they have created card games, short films and even a five-author Wellington based horror novel.

But ‘Mansfield with Monsters’ is their longest, highest profile and most satisfying collaboration to date, says Debbie.

“We spent a lot of time at opposite ends of the house working on separate stories, but we read and discussed each other’s adaptations over lunch and worked on some of the stories together from the start.”

Local publisher

The book was picked up by local publisher Steam Press in 2011, with editor Stephen Minchin overseeing the final drafts and collating stories.

The adaptations are based on a set of partial drafts uncovered by Dr Marcus Walker.

“We pieced together those fragments, breathing life into versions of Mansfield’s stories not previously published,” Debbie says.

“The horror of a moment of dark epiphany takes on an even more sinister meaning when it is sparked by an encounter with the supernatural.”

The book will be available in paperback and electronic format from www.steampress.co.nz, from amazon.com and from bookstores from July the 7^th.

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG9y3xuOhPo

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100 Years Ago — and the Maori Long March begins

Māori politics was dominated by the influential MPs (and sometime Cabinet ministers) Māui Pōmare ( Waitara statue photo above) and Apirana Ngata.

The 1920's also saw the rise of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana’s religious movement, and the emergence of Te Puea Hērangi in Waikato.

Ngata worked hard to foster Māori scholarship and education and preserve traditional arts and culture.

He convinced the government to establish a Board of Maori Ethnological Research (1923), a Maori Purposes Fund Control Board (1924) and a School of Maori Arts and Crafts in Rotorua (1927).

The Reform government also took the first, tentative steps towards settling longstanding Māori grievances.

Agreements with Te Arawa in 1922 and Ngāti Tūwharetoa in 1926 recognised their respective rights over the Rotorua lakes and Lake Taupō, and led to the establishment of trust boards with some government funding.

Commissions of inquiry which examined Ngāi Tahu grievances (1920–21) and the Waikato and Taranaki confiscations (1926–27) recommended that modest compensation be paid.