Case 13 - Getting it Right: Biography

Michael King, Whina. A biography of Whina Cooper. Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton, 1983. SPRH 993.03092 COO (KIN)

Michael King, Whina. A biography of Whina Cooper. Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton, 1983. SPRH 993.03092 COO (KIN)

A biography is simply the story of a person’s life. Each biographer brings to the task a particular set of skills and knowledge that mould the work for publication. Of the genre, few are great (Boswell, Froude, Ellman); others range from good to downright bad. In August 2001, Hotere suffered a stroke, which must have heightened his awareness of his mortality. Michael King had already started working on Hotere’s biography, but sadly he died in 2004. Hotere was then attracted to the works of a few New Zealand biographers such as Rachel Barrowman, Terry Sturm, and Vincent O’Sullivan. Hotere had met O’Sullivan previously and it was this familiarity that saw the latter engaged in writing the first Hotere biography (see Case 11).

Michael King, Whina. A biography of Whina Cooper. Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton, 1983. SPRH 993.03092 COO (KIN)

Michael King, Whina. A biography of Whina Cooper. Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton, 1983. SPRH 993.03092 COO (KIN)
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Vincent O’Sullivan, Long journey to the border. A life of John Mulgan. Auckland: Penguin Books, 2003. SPRH 823 (OSU)

Vincent O’Sullivan, Long journey to the border. A life of John Mulgan. Auckland: Penguin Books, 2003. SPRH 823 (OSU)

Vincent O’Sullivan, Long journey to the border. A life of John Mulgan. Auckland: Penguin Books, 2003. SPRH 823 (OSU)

Vincent O’Sullivan, Long journey to the border. A life of John Mulgan. Auckland: Penguin Books, 2003. SPRH 823 (OSU)
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Terry Sturm, An unsettled spirit. The life & frontier fiction of Edith Lyttleton (G.B. Lancaster). Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2003. SPRH 823 LYT (STU)

Terry Sturm, An unsettled spirit. The life & frontier fiction of Edith Lyttleton (G.B. Lancaster). Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2003. SPRH 823 LYT (STU)

Terry Sturm, An unsettled spirit. The life & frontier fiction of Edith Lyttleton (G.B. Lancaster). Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2003. SPRH 823 LYT (STU)

Terry Sturm, An unsettled spirit. The life & frontier fiction of Edith Lyttleton (G.B. Lancaster). Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2003. SPRH 823 LYT (STU)
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Rachel Barrowman, Mason. The life of R.A.K. Mason. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2003. SPRH 821 MAS (BAR)

Rachel Barrowman, Mason. The life of R.A.K. Mason. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2003. SPRH 821 MAS (BAR)

Rachel Barrowman, Mason. The life of R.A.K. Mason. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2003. SPRH 821 MAS (BAR)

Rachel Barrowman, Mason. The life of R.A.K. Mason. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2003. SPRH 821 MAS (BAR)
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Jill McIntosh (Ed.), Contemporary New Zealand prints. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989. SPRH 769.993 CON

Jill McIntosh (Ed.), Contemporary New Zealand prints. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989. SPRH 769.993 CON

When writing entries about people in any sort of publication – biographies, articles, art catalogues and so on – it is the responsibility of the writer to be as accurate as possible, to get the information right. A proof copy sent back to the subject is a sure way of preventing any mistakes. Here Hotere has taken his pen to the details printed in this 1989 catalogue, taking issue with tribal affiliations given, the confusion over ‘Vence’ and ‘Venice’, and a statement (crossed out) which generates his response ‘Crap’ (crossed out) and then the final ‘Garbage’.

Jill McIntosh (Ed.), Contemporary New Zealand prints. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989. SPRH 769.993 CON

Jill McIntosh (Ed.), Contemporary New Zealand prints. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989. SPRH 769.993 CON
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Jill McIntosh (Ed.), Contemporary New Zealand prints. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989. SPRH 769.993 CON

Jill McIntosh (Ed.), Contemporary New Zealand prints. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989. SPRH 769.993 CON

Jill McIntosh (Ed.), Contemporary New Zealand prints. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989. SPRH 769.993 CON

Jill McIntosh (Ed.), Contemporary New Zealand prints. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989. SPRH 769.993 CON
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