Latest from Arts & Literature

Interview with Lester Hall

The father had two pieces of advice for his son. No motorbikes and no heroin. Lester Hall has toed that line.

Comic goes cosmic on a galactic mission

Dressed in her black stiletto boots and long elegant locks, Gilda Kirkpatrick is not your stereotypical image of a comic book artist.

Man Booker Prize short list released

The Man Booker Prize short list of six top novels was released last night - but this year the prestigious award does not have a New Zealander among the top picks.

Heather du Plessis-Allen: Book banning censors truth

We're going to share the rudest sample from Ted Dawe's Into the River so we can properly assess whether this book should be temporarily censored.

'It's hard to watch someone die from something within their control'

Glenn Colquhoun is a GP and writer. The first poet to win the Reader's Choice Montana Book Awards for his bestselling book Playing God, he headlines this weekend's Going West book festival

Family First president Bob McCoskrie: I never wanted Into the River banned

The head of the Christian lobby group Family First said he never demanded the award-winning book Into the River be banned.

Wallace award for tapa art

This year's Wallace Arts Trust Paramount Award was presented last night at Pah Homestead in Auckland to a Hamilton-based pacific artist.

Collins stars in reporter's art show

Michele Hewitson interview: C.K. Stead

New Zealand's newest poet laureate says his latest accolade is 'very acceptable' but you suspect he'd rather talk about his love of cats of dogs.

Cumberbatch praised for role in 'dismal' Hamlet

Critics have hailed Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Hamlet as "victorious" whilst branding the show an "anti-climax".

Enigmatic smile's secret revealed

British researchers believe they have unlocked the mystery of the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile - by analysing another, recently discovered masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.

The world's most depressing theme park

A seaside "bemusement park" unveiled by Banksy has sparked controversy by featuring a Cinderella pumpkin crash sculpture which echos Princess Diana's death.

NZ Dance Company's Lumina 'hypnotic'

The three choreographers contributing state of the art pieces for this ground-breaking season with the New Zealand Dance Company were given the brief of "light, illumination, space, image and movement" by the company's artistic director Shona McCullagh.

Brave decision that gave flight to a writer

Always creative, it took a while for Man Booker nominee Anna Smaill to find the perfect medium for her message.

Sherlock star's on-stage meltdown

Benedict Cumberbatch shouted expletives after a series of mishaps during his performance in Hamlet.

What did Shakespeare smoke?

South African scientists have discovered that 400-year-old tobacco pipes excavated from the garden of William Shakespeare contained cannabis, suggesting the playwright might have written some of his....

Artist's luxury edible portraits

Portraits of Audrey Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin, views of Venetian canals or a growling lion, these artworks all have something in common outside hefty price tags - they're edible.

Yoko Ono still seeking peace

For more than 50 years Yoko Ono has been campaigning - for peace, for feminism, and gun control. This tireless activism, she tells Alex Needham, is at the heart of her work as an artist.