Frank Sargeson

Sargeson, Frank
Name	Frank Sargeson
born	21 March 1903 "Norris Frank Davey" in Hamilton, NZ
died	1 March 1982, Auckland, NZ
Role	NZ short story writer, editor of short story anthologies and mentor to younger writers

Frank Sargeson (21 March 1903 – 1 March 1982) was the pen name of Norris Frank Davey. He is considered one of New Zealand's foremost short story writers and often called "the father of New Zealand literature." Like Katherine Mansfield, Sargeson helped to put New Zealand literature on the world map.

Life

Born in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sargeson has been credited with introducing New Zealand English into short stories. His technique was to write the story without mentioning the setting. He also used a semi-articulate style which means that the story was written from a naive point of view. Events are simply told but are not explained.

Although Sargeson became known for his literary depiction of the laconic and unsophisticated New Zealand male, his upbringing had in fact been comfortable albeit puritanical. Upon completing his training as a solicitor, he spent two years in the United Kingdom. Sometime in the 1930s, he began living year-round in his parents' holiday cottage at 14A Esmonde Road in Takapuna, a northern suburb of Auckland. He eventually inherited the property which became for several decades an important gathering place for Auckland's bohemia and literati.

When Janet Frame was released in 1955 from eight years of voluntary incarceration in New Zealand psychiatric hospitals, Sargeson invited her to stay in an ex-army hut on his property. He introduced her to other writers and affirmed her literary vocation and encouraged her to adopt good working habits. She lived in the shed for about a year, during which time she wrote her first novel, Owls Do Cry.

During the 1930s and 40s, Sargeson experienced considerable economic hardship, as his literary output earned him very little money. This experience left him permanently sympathetic to the Left. For example, he quietly advocated closer relations between New Zealand and Maoist China. He was also gay at a time when sodomy was illegal in New Zealand. In 1929, he was arrested on a morals charge in Wellington, but later acquitted. King (1995) believes that this trial explains why Sargeson adopted a pen name and never practiced the profession for which he had trained.

Sargeson died in Auckland.

Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship

(see full article)

A fellowship run by the The Frank Sargeson Trust in association with Auckland University and sponsored by Buddle Findlay supports writer(s) to live in the Sargeson Centre, adjacent to the University of Auckland, with an annual stipend.

Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellows

Year	Fellow	Genre
2011	Sue Orr
2011	Mark Broatch
2010	Sonja Yelich
2010	Sarah Laing
2009	Steve Braunias	non-fiction
2009	Julian Novitz
2008	Brigid Lowry
2008	Paula Morris
2007	James George
2006	Emily Perkins	novels
2005	Fiona Samuel
2005	Peter Cox
2004	Karyn Hay	novels, broadcasting
2004	Craig Marriner	novels
2003	Toa Fraser	plays (theatre)
2003	Debra Daley
2002	Riemke Ensing	poetry
2002	Denis Baker
2001	Vivienne Plumb
2001	Chad Taylor	novels
2000	Sue Reidy
2000	James Brown
2000	Charlotte Grimshaw	short stories
1999	Tina Shaw
1999	Kapka Kassabova	poetry
1998	Catherine Chidgey	novels
1998	Sarah Quigley
1997	Shonagh Koea
1997	Diane Brown
????	Kevin Ireland	poetry
????	Alan Duff	novels
????	Elspeth Sandys
????	Michael King
????	Marilyn Duckworth
1984	Janet Frame	poetry, short stories, novels

External links

• Biography and links, by the New Zealand Book Council.
• Takapuna Library. Contact the Library to make an appointment to visit the Sargeson's house in Takapuna.
• Lay, Graeme, ed., North Shore Literary Walks.
• Sargeson Fellowship for a writer-in-residence, sponsored by Buddle, Findlay