First generation

The first generation of New Zealand writers is a loose term used to describe those writers of the 1930s and 1940s, for whom literary nationalism was a primary concern. They were among the first New Zealand-born writers to write about and for New Zealanders. Although some of them achieved international reputations, their influence on New Zealand literature in the following years, continuing to the present day, is their strongest legacy.

Writers
Writers associated with this first generation include
 * Frank Sargeson
 * Allen Curnow
 * Denis Glover
 * A.R.D. Fairburn
 * R.A.K. Mason
 * Charles Brasch