Short Story Competition

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 68, 22 March 1937, Page 8

Short Story Competition

Announcement of Winning Entries - “TIMES” SEARCH FOR LITERARY ABILITY. First prize of four guineas.— Audrey B. King, Karori, Wellington. Second prizo of two guineas.— Clare Carroll, Newtown, Wellington. Third prize of one guinea.—J. Teignmouth Shore. Auckland. Commended.—Dulcie Carman, Hastings; E. L. Oldman, Cunningchains, Feilding. The following criticism is supplied by the judges:— “It is interesting to note that of the large number of entries in this competition, half are stories based on incidents in the history of the Alanawatu district or deal with pioneer or pre European days. This undoubtedly reflects the awakening in interest in historical associations which has taken place in recent years, and indicates that our ambitious young writers are not passing over unheeded the wonderful mine of material and inspiration provided by our short but romantic history, and the rapid and wonderful development of this land from the conditions of the Stone Age to its present position amongst tho nations of the world. The epic of New Zealand's pioneers has yet to be written, and it may well be that the writer of it may prove to be one of the contributors to this competition, for the best of the stories submitted deal with incidents in the lives of early pioneers, and, we have no hesitation in saying, deal with them with ability and understanding. “As might be expected, a number of the entries appear to be the first and (to us, at least) painful effort of the amateur, and are as immature as the years of the authors. Increase in year& and experience may awaken the sleeping genius, but we are bound to say that in some cases we doubt it.

“In many cases the stories suffer from lack of careful revision and even bad spelling. Wo meet the ‘Professior's typist looking demurable sweet in a plain blue costumn.' The dead man's faco is strangely ‘rcsful’ as tho rays from the moon shine through the ‘thick clotted cloud' and the trees in tho forest are ‘hugh’

“We are interested to noto that there is a restaurant in Palmerston North which can ‘slip on a gown of enormous possibility' aud that tho lirst act of our medical meu upon discovering the body of a murdered resident is to write out a death certificate.

“The error of many competitors was to select too broad a canvas. In fact some of them endeavoured to write an Anthouy Adverse' in 200 U words. {Several generations and journeying from continent to continent were taken in the stride of a few short pAges, and in a number of cases tho narrative was divided into chapters or parts to add impressiveness or denote the march of time. The author, instead of confining himself to an incident, or the action ot the story, to a reasonably short period of time endeavoured to present a novel in the guistf of a short story, in many cases the plot was original and well conceived, but hopelessly unsuitable for the purposes of a short story. “As already mentioned many of the stories dealt with some aspect of Maori life and with incidents in the history of the Manawatu. Where native life was introduced some of the authors were treading on thin ice, and betrayed a lack of the knowledge of the race, its customs and language necessary to make the narrative convincing. Maori w’ords were freely used aud in a largo number of cases wrongly spelt, ‘waka* (canoe) being rendered as ‘whaka,' •pa' as ‘pah,' ‘kainga’ as ‘kaianga,' ‘inakutu’ as ‘makuta, 'Ngauruhoe' as ‘Ngaruahoe,’ etc. We find tho tribe turning in fury on its own tohunga and feasting on his old withered carcase. There are other errors due to lack of knowledge, or research or even to gross carelessness which have detracted from some otherwise very fair stories. We learn for the first time that the Gorge separates the Tararuas from the Puketois and that the best way to revive a semi-drowned person is to bathe the brow with cold water. ‘Mr. Gillies' of paragraph one becomes ‘Air. Gilchrist' in paragraph two, and the traveller proceeding up the Manawatu on page one is mysteriously transported to the Rangitikei river on page two. “But although some promising entries are spoiled by such faults, and in others by the taking of unpardonable liberties with historical fact, a number are of a surprisingly .high standard. “We have awarded first place to ‘Pioneer’ by Audrey B. King. This story deals with the anxieties and fears of a pioneer mother waiting with her children in a lonely bush dwelling for the return of her belated husband, an experience which must have been lived through by many a backblocks wife when the natives were restive and the dangers of pioneer life very real. The authoress develops her theme with skill and deep understanding and the atmo sphere of anxious fear gradually develops to a tense climax. The story discloses literary ability of a high standard and Airs. King should be heard of again before Jong. “SeCond place goes to ‘The Hut in the Clearing’ by Clare Carroll. Curiously enough the theme of the pioneer wife w'aiting fearfully through the night for her husband is also introduced into this story. The plot is Interesting and cleverly developed, and tho conversation natural. Incidentally the immigrants introduced by Bishop Alonrad were Danes and not Norwegians as mentioned in the story. Miss Carroll has entered two other stories, ‘Old Ahpira’ (which incidentally is not a true Maori name) and ‘Our Pioneer Mothers,' both of a high standard, and it is evident that this promising auth work. “It is with somo/hesitation that we

oress should produce some excellent have selected the story for third place. A number vie very closely for the honour. Although it has some defects in literary style which do not appear to the same extent in two or three other stories, ‘For Those Who Come After’ by J. Teignmouth Shore is redeemed by the interest of its plot and the vigour and sympathy of its narration and is awarded third place. Obviously dealing with a true incident of pioneer life, this story is one which should appeal to any New Zealander. “We would also like specially to mention ‘The Great Adventure,' by Dulcie Carman a charming little story in which the characters are excellently portrayed and ‘Sultry Weather' by E. L. Oldman, which gives a vivid little picture of a bush fire.

“Two entries which we have been compelled to rule out of the competition as not coming under the accepted definition of a ‘story’ are ‘The Prospector' by W. J. Croucher and 'Parewanui' by A. K. McKenzie, lu ‘The Prospector' Air. Croucher gives in excellent descriptive language an account of the evolution of this district from a primitive wilderness to its present state of ordered prosperity, and deals with the trials and joys, successes and failures of our pioneers. Air. McKenzie in ‘Parewanui' gives a most colourful picture of the great gathering at Parewanui Pa in 1849 when the purchase from the Natives of the Rangitikei Block was effected, aud provides an insight into Native iife, which discloses deep knowledge of the Maori in those early days. We feel that Mr. McKenzie has much knowledge of these matters which would well be preserved and we hope he will see fit to again put his pen to paper in the same vivid style. “In conclusion we should like to say that the ‘Times’ search for literary talent flas in our opinion borne good fruit, and although we have dwelt perhaps overlong on imperfections which will no doubt in most cases disappear with practico and perseverance, we have felt it a privilege to peruse so many stories which show decided ability and the promise of excellent work to come." HISTORICAL SKETCH. The second competition for a short sketch of some incident that happened in the early days of the Manawatu, Rangitikei or Horowhenua districts, also found many competitors and here again the judges had difficulty in finding the first prize winner. The main object of the competition was an endeavour to have recorded incidents of pioneering life and early Maori days, before they should be lost for ever with the passing of the generations and in this the “Times" has succeeded beyond expectation. First prize has been awarded to W. K. Te Awe Awe, of Rangiotu, who supplies a story dealing with the garden reserves in the Square, Palmerston North. The author has made really a definite contribution to the history ot the city. The subsidiary prizes have beer, awarded as follows: Mr. P. W. Dixon, R.D. Rongotea, “A Little Excitement In Feilding”; Air. J. H. Stevens, Church street, Palmerston, “A Marvellous Coincidence"; Mr. F. Cravin, Daunevirke, “Gold in the Pohangina Valley"; Airs. F. E. Fleury, Kimbolton. “The Finger of Fate"; Miss O. Meyer, Mount View, Alarton, “The Winning Walk"; John L. MacDonald, Mangamutu, Pahiatua, “Seventy Years Ago.”