It’s been another prolific publishing year for Massey University Press. Since launching in 2015 it has produced more than 40 books and quickly secured a respected place within the New Zealand publishing sector. Below is a small selection published in recent months.
Edited by Jack Ross
Poetry New Zealand Yearbook is New Zealand’s longest-running poetry magazine, the esteemed home of exciting new writing from talented newcomers and established poets. Continually in print since 1951, when it was established by poet Louis Johnson, this annual collection of new writing, reviews and poetics discussion is mandatory reading for poetry fans. Issue 52 of the yearbook – edited by senior lecturer in creative writing Dr Jack Ross – features 130 new poems by 87 poets, including Alistair Paterson, Jennifer Compton, David Eggleton, Sue Fitchett, Ted Jenner, Albert Wendt and Mark Young.
Edited by Rachael Bell
Looking back, New Zealand’s interwar years were seminal, and yet surprisingly few publications have been dedicated to them. New Zealand Between the Wars fills that gap and provides fresh insights into the country’s trajectory from colonial outpost to modern, independent nation. This book, edited by history lecturer Dr Rachael Bell, explores the interwar years through a series of illuminating essays structured around four themes: modernity, the role of the state, citizenship and gender.
By Adam Claasen
In the Great War, when aviation was new and aeroplanes lightly built and based on crude technology, it took a special kind of courage to be an airman. Whether going after the dreaded Zeppelin airships or dogfighting with the Germans’ feared Jasta 11, New Zealand airmen — pilots, observers and mechanics — were up for the challenge. New Zealanders served on the Western Front, in the Middle East, over the North Sea, in East Africa and in the skies above London. The attrition rate was punishing, the heroism astounding. History lecturer Dr Adam Claasen draws on archival material from New Zealand, Australia and Britain to tell this revealing story, the latest volume in the First World War centenary history programme series of books.
By Peter Lineham
To understand New Zealand society and culture today, we must reflect on the religious culture that helped to shape it – from the redoubtable temperance movement to the push for social justice and gender equality. The past influence of the church, as outlined by professor of history, Peter Lineham, explains so many of our present-day prohibitions, inhibitions, enthusiasms, civic ceremonies and rituals.
By Janet Hunt
Natural historian and conservationist Janet Hunt has collaborated with Wildbase Hospital’s vets, vet nurses and technicians to produce a book for young readers about the services offered by the wildlife hospital. Featuring lavish photographs, the book details stories behind the rescue of and rehabilitation efforts for a kea with a broken foot, a little blue penguin covered in oil from the Rena disaster, a kereru with a broken wing, a flightless whio and many more.
Edited by Simon Wilson
The latest edition of the highly regarded Journal of Urgent Writing is the place to find the answers to the big questions. Editor Simon Wilson invited 21 of New Zealand’s best thinkers to ponder “the state of our nation”, and ponder they did. Their strong views about everything from climate change and social investment to race, identity, Trump, community, urbanisation, tertiary education and politics coalesce around a dream about a different, better Aotearoa.
To read more go to www.masseypress.ac.nz