NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Booker prize winner Keri Hulme defends successor Eleanor Catton

NZME.
28 Jan, 2015 04:59 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Keri Hulme (left) has come to Eleanor Catton's defence, calling Sean Plunket's comments "silly".

Keri Hulme (left) has come to Eleanor Catton's defence, calling Sean Plunket's comments "silly".

New Zealand's original Booker Prize winner has defended her successor after Eleanor Catton was criticised for speaking out against the current government.

Catton, who won the 2013 Man Booker Prize for her novel The Luminaries, was speaking at the Jaipur Literary Festival in India last week where she reportedly said that after winning the prize she became uncomfortable with the way people treated her in New Zealand.

"We have this strange cultural phenomenon called 'tall poppy syndrome'," she said.

"If you get success overseas then very often the local population can suddenly be very hard on you.

"Or the other problem is that the local population can take ownership of that success in a way that is strangely proprietal."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Catton said she has struggled with her identity as a New Zealand writer and felt uncomfortable being an ambassador for the country when it was not doing as much as it could, "especially for the intellectual world".

She criticised the Government as being dominated by "neo-liberal, profit-obsessed, very shallow, very money-hungry politicians" who didn't care about culture.

Her comments were ridiculed by RadioLive broadcaster Sean Plunket, who this morning labelled Catton an "ungrateful hua".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I don't see you as an ambassador for our country, I see you as a traitor," he said.

Plunket's comments were swiftly condemned on social media, and confusion arose about what he had said.

"Halfway through his disgusting rant Plunket calls Eleanor Catton and "ungrateful whore" or am I mishearing that?" Arts commentator Hamish Keith wrote.

MediaWorks spokeswoman Rachel Lorimer said Plunket defined a hua as "just a woman who annoys you".

Discover more

Entertainment

Eleanor Catton 'angry' with Government

27 Jan 05:27 AM
New Zealand|politics

Plunket: Catton 'ungrateful', 'traitor'

28 Jan 12:26 AM
Opinion

Alan Duff: Why Eleanor Catton was right about NZ

27 Jan 08:33 PM
New Zealand

Hulme quick to back Catton

28 Jan 04:00 PM

Winner of the 1985 Man Booker Prize, Keri Hulme described Plunket's comments as "silly".

"Quite seriously, aren't writers allowed their opinions. Do we have to - whether we've been helped via literary prizes etcetera or government grants - always agree with what some of the policies are."

However, she disagreed New Zealand had a 'tall poppy' issue when it came to successful writers.

"I've had an enormous amount of support over the years. Not least to when [The Bone People] was declared the first classic New Zealand novel, which still makes me laugh."

Hulme added that she suspected whatever country a writer was from they would be disillusioned with government support of the arts.

"I felt very comfortable when I was an ambassador for New Zealand in a literary sense."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Victoria University Press publisher Fergus Barrowman said Plunket's comments were "completely absurd".

"In terms of being a traitor, we show our love and gratitude to our country as much by holding it up to high standards as we do by celebrating it," he said.

"I just think it's amazing how something so innocuous can blow up so nastily so quickly. We have a real problem with public conversation in this country."

Prime Minister John Key said he was disappointed Catton "doesn't have respect for the work we do because I have tremendous respect for what she does as a writer".

He said Catton has been aligned with the Green Party and her comments "probably summarise the Green Party's view of this government".

Novelist Jenny Pattrick said she agreed with some of Catton's comments about the present government's policies, but not with her assertion that they didn't value cultural matters.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I've dealt with numerous Ministers of Culture over the past decades, from both political sides. Uniformly they've been great supporters. And long may that continue."

Labour leader Andrew Little said Catton was simply "calling it how she sees it".

"I understand what she's saying ... We do need to support the creative and expressive arts, it's a very important part of New Zealand, we have a very strong creative and arts community.

"If she feels it's not being supported, then let's look at that, let's hear more about it, and see what we can do."

Mr Little said he did not take her criticisms about New Zealand politicians personally, saying she was "entitled to express her opinion".

"For Heaven's sake, two weeks on from one of the grossest tragedy's in the world, which is all about freedom of speech, let's celebrate freedom of speech and let's celebrate and welcome what our writers have to contribute and to offer," he said, referencing the shooting against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo earlier this month.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Let's actually listen to them, let's not try and shout them down."

Catton was a "high performing, very reputable writer", he said, who New Zealanders "should be very proud of".

New Zealand artist Dick Frizzell, who was a judge at last year's New Zealand Post Book awards, told Radio New Zealand he felt as though Catton obviously still held on to some resentment for not taking home the top accolade.

"There were some other very very good books... this is not the Booker this is a New Zealand prize,"

He said Jill Trevelyan's book, Peter McLeavey: The life and times of a New Zealand art dealer, celebrated New Zealand writing, and he called it a "New Zealand icon".

"We gave it the best book. Eleanor got the best fiction. We thought that was a nice symmetry there."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Job well done': Sanford doubles half year profit

15 May 03:22 AM
New Zealand

Afternoon quiz: What is the farthest known galaxy?

15 May 03:00 AM
New Zealand

Vandal chops down nīkau tree at heart of public picnic artwork in Haumoana

15 May 02:58 AM

Connected workers are safer workers 

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Job well done': Sanford doubles half year profit

'Job well done': Sanford doubles half year profit

15 May 03:22 AM

The result comes off the back of good returns for Sanford's salmon farming operation.

Afternoon quiz: What is the farthest known galaxy?

Afternoon quiz: What is the farthest known galaxy?

15 May 03:00 AM
Vandal chops down nīkau tree at heart of public picnic artwork in Haumoana

Vandal chops down nīkau tree at heart of public picnic artwork in Haumoana

15 May 02:58 AM
Watch: Thieves ram-raid Temuka service station with stolen vehicle

Watch: Thieves ram-raid Temuka service station with stolen vehicle

15 May 02:57 AM
The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head
sponsored

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP