James McNeish

Sir James McNeish
KNZM
Born James Henry Peter McNeish
(1931-10-23)23 October 1931
Auckland, New Zealand
Died 11 November 2016(2016-11-11) (aged 85)
Wellington, New Zealand
Occupation Novelist, biographer and playwright
Language English
Nationality New Zealand
Education Auckland Grammar School
Alma mater Auckland University College
Spouse Felicity Ann Wily (m. 1960; div. 1964)[1]
Helen Schnitzer (m. 1968)[1]

Sir James Henry Peter McNeish KNZM (23 October 1931 – 11 November 2016) was a New Zealand novelist, playwright and biographer.

Biography

McNeish attended Auckland Grammar School and graduated from Auckland University College with a degree in languages. He travelled the world as a young man, working as a deckhand on a Norwegian freighter in 1958, and recording folk music in 21 countries. He worked in the Theatre Workshop in London with Joan Littlewood, and was influenced by her spirit of socially-committed drama. He worked as a freelance programme and documentary maker for the BBC Radio's Features Department in the 1960s. He also wrote for The Guardian and The Observer. He spent three years in Sicily with Danilo Dolci, the non-violent anti-Mafia reformer, and wrote Fire under the Ashes (1965, London: Hodder and Stoughton)[2] a biographical account of Dolci's life which is remarkable for its objectivity and clarity. He has written some 25 books.

McNeish's writing has been the subject of critical acclaim both at home and abroad. Besides New Zealand, his books are set in Sicily, London, Israel and New Caledonia. He was described as "prolific" by the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. His book Lovelock was nominated for the 1986 Booker Prize.[3]

In 1999, he was awarded the prestigious National Library of New Zealand Research Fellowship, allowing him to research the lives and friendships of five prominent New Zealanders who attended Oxford University in the 1930s—four of them Rhodes Scholars: James Bertram, Geoffrey Cox, Dan Davin, Ian Milner and John Mulgan.[4] This multi-biography was published under the title The Dance of the Peacocks: New Zealanders in exile in the time of Hitler and Mao Tse Tung (2003). In the same vein, The Sixth Man (2007) is a biography of another gifted New Zealander, Paddy Costello, who studied at Cambridge University during the same period and whose subsequent career in the Foreign Office was marred by controversy.

In 2010, McNeish was honoured with the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Non-Fiction.[5] He plans to donate part of his prize towards a travel scholarship—'a hardship scheme'—for young writers.

It was said about him that among New Zealand novelists, he was the 'wild card'. In an interview with Philip Matthews in 2010 (Weekend, 26 June 2010), he said: "I've always been an outsider, and I'm quite comfortable with that. To retain your critical sense in a small society like New Zealand, you have to stand apart".

In the 2011 New Year Honours McNeish was appointed as Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature.[6]

Sir James lived in Wellington, New Zealand, with his wife Helen, Lady McNeish.

He died on 11 November 2016, aged 85, several days after submitting his final manuscript, Breaking Ranks, to HarperCollins for publication in April 2017.[7]

Awards

Major works

Novels

Non-Fiction

Plays

Articles, reviews and essays

Anthology

Articles

Biography

Interview

Letter

Non-Fiction

Tavern in the Town. Wellington: Reed, 1957

The Man From Nowhere & Other Prose. Auckland: Godwit, 1991

North and South Dec (1991) 119–123 Walking on My Feet : A.R.D. Fairburn, 1904–1957 : a Kind of Biography. Auckland: Collins, 1983

Lovelock' Auckland, Godwit, 1994

Mackenzie : a Novel Auckland: Godwit, 1995

Mr Halliday and the Circus Master. Auckland: David Ling Publishing, 1996

My Name is Paradiso, Auckland: David Ling Publishing, 1995.

Penelope's Island, Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton, 1990

The Glass Zoo, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1976

The Mackenzie Affair, Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972

Profile

Sources

Articles

Interviews

Reviews

  • Penguin, NZ Weekly News 5311 (1965) 41
  • McEldowney, Dennis, The Listener 65.1626 (1970) 16
  • Jones, Lloyd, Landfall 25 March (1971) 93–103
  • Simpson, Tony, Affairs 91 March (1971)
  • Cleveland, L., The Listener 71.1726 (1972) 56
  • McEldowney, Dennis, Islands 2 Autumn (1973) 106–108
  • Rea, Ken, Act 20 Aug (1973) 56–58
  • King, Michael, NZ Bookworld 14 Feb/Mar (1975) 27
  • Oppenheim, R., New Argot 3.1 Mar (1975) 4
  • Fry, A., The Listener 79.1860 (1975) 50–51
  • Bertram, James, The Listener 81.1898 (1976) 36–37
  • Rhodes, H. Winston, Landfall 30 Sept (1976) 208–211
  • Cunningham, Kevin, NZ Bookworld 25 June (1976) 19
  • Observer (1976) 30
  • New Statesman 91 (1976) 108
  • TLS (Times Literary Supplement) (1976) 76
  • Kirkus Reviews 44 (1976) 343
  • The Listener London 95 (1976) 108
  • Christian Science Monitor 68 (1976) 27
  • Best Sellers 36 Sept (1976) 184
  • Library Journal 101 (1976)1798
  • McEldowney, Dennis, Islands 5.1 Sept (1976) 100–102
  • Sanderson, M., The Listener 87.1974 (1977) 76–77
  • Owen, A., NZ Bookworld 45 Feb (1978) 21–22
  • Lambrecht, Winifred, Library Journal 105 (1980) 1072
  • Glatt, Carol R., Library Journal 105 (1980) 871
  • Publishers Weekly 217 (1980) 101
  • Kirkus Reviews 48 (1980) 192
  • Publishers Weekly 217 (1980) 74
  • Booklist 76 (1980) 1251
  • Guardian Weekly 123 (1980) 21
  • Stringer, Terry, Art New Auckland 15 (1980) 57
  • Edmond, Lauris, New Outlook Dec (1983) 37
  • Edmond, Lauris, New Outlook Dec 1983/Jan 1984 Dec/Jan (1983) 37
  • Evans, P. Lipsync 103.2256 (1983) 98
  • Gifkins, Michael, New Outlook Autumn (1983) 35
  • Alpers, Antony, The Listener 2289.105 Dec (1983) 86
  • Alpers, Antony, The Listener 105.2289 (1983) 86
  • Theobald, G., PSA Journal 70.2 Mar (1983) 14
  • Owens, J., Landfall 37 June (1983) 218–220
  • NZ Wineglass 44 Dec (1984) 9
  • Butterworth, S., The Listener 109.2343 (1985) 26
  • King, Michael, Metro 6.66 Dec (1986) 269–273
  • Robinson, Roger, The Listener 116.2465 (1987) 56
  • Mowbray, Trevor, School Library Review 7.3 (1987) 16–26
  • Fordyce, Stephen, New Zealand Runner 49 April (1987) 16
  • Steinberg, Sybil, Publishers Weekly 233.20 (1988) 67
  • Moffitt, D. New & Notable 7.5 Nov (1990) 5
  • Crosbie, Sharon, The Dominion Sunday Times (1990) 13
  • Brooke, Agnes Mary, The Press (1990) 27
  • King, Michael, Metro 113 Nov (1990) 180–182
  • Eggleton, David, The Evening Post (1990) 5
  • Eggleton, David, Otago Daily Times (1990) 21
  • Ireland, Kevin, The Dominion (1990) 7
  • Lay, Graeme, The Listener 128.2641 (1990) 110–111
  • Lay, Graeme, North and South Dec (1991) 119–123
  • Burton, David, The Evening Post (1991) 5
  • Palenski, Ron, The Dominion (1991) 9
  • Swain, Pauline, The Dominion Sunday Times (1991) 22
  • Wattie, Nelson, Landfall 45.3 Sept (1991) 368–370
  • Griffiths, George, The Otago Daily Times (1992) 26
  • Hill, David, The Listener (1995) 50
  • Cooper, Ronda, Metro 169 July (1995) 117–119
  • Lay, Graeme, North and South 110 May (1995) 128–132
  • Smither, Elizabeth Quote Unquote 24 June (1995) 26
  • Kroetsch, Laura. The Dominion (1995) 20
  • King, John, The Evening Post (1995) 7
  • Savage, Paul, The Press (1995) 11
  • Broatch, Mark, Quote Unquote 22 April (1995) 30–31
  • Jensen, Kai, Landfall 190 Spring (1995) 360–362
  • James, Bryan, The Otago Daily Times (1995) 28
  • Sharp, Iain, New Zealand Books 5.5 Dec (1995) 9-11
  • The New Zealand Herald (1995) 6
  • Cross, Ian, The Listener (1996) 47
  • Simpson, Tony, The Dominion (1996) 20
  • Scott, Bede, The Sunday Star Times (1996) 4
  • McLauchlan, Gordon, The New Zealand Herald (1996) 8
  • McLean, Gavin, The Otago Daily Times (1996) 22
  • Stratford, Stephen, Quote Unquote 41 Nov (1996) 30
  • Burnard, Trevor. The Press (1996) 16
  • Eggleton, David, The Evening Post (1996) 7
  • Lay, Graeme, North and South 128 Nov (1996) 140–142
  • Cooper, Ronda, Metro 184 Oct (1996) 117–120
  • Lay, Graeme, North and South 137 Aug (1997) 132–134
  • Warner, Howard, New Zealand Books 7.1 Mar (1997) 10–11
  • Van Beynen, Martin, The Press (1997) 16
  • Kitchin, Peter, The Evening Post (1997) 7
  • Richards, Ian, The Listener (1998) 45
  • Prebble, Ray, The Evening Post (1998) 5
  • Hill, David, The Dominion (1998) 20
  • Ireland, Kevin, The New Zealand Herald (1998) 6
  • Sandra K. Bogart NZHerald.co.nz (2007) 16 July
  • Eugene Bingham NZHerald.co.nz (2007) 8 September
  • Hill, David, NZHerald.co.nz (2010) 20 July

References

  1. 1 2 Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. ISSN 1172-9813.
  2. ↑ Some Sort of Sicilian Saint, Time, 8 April 1966
  3. ↑ "New Zealand Book Council". Bookcouncil.org.nz. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  4. ↑ "James McNeish Biography – Zealand, Auckland, Mackenzie, and Stoughton – JRank Articles". Biography.jrank.org. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "New Year Honours 2011" (14 January 2011) 2 New Zealand Gazette 55.
  7. ↑ "Writer's writer Sir James McNeish dies". Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ "Author thought award was hoax". The New Zealand Herald. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  10. ↑ Beattie, Graham (2012-06-29). "Beattie's Book Blog – unofficial homepage of the New Zealand book community: Touchstones – a memoir from James McNeish". Beattiesbookblog.blogspot.co.nz. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  11. ↑ "Touchstones by James McNeish". LibraryThing. Retrieved 2015-07-31.

External links

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