Writing talent in city

Lesley Stead of Paige's Book Gallery and author Carmel Hurdle with a collection of books by Wanganui authors. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO 150913WCSMBOOKFAIR1

In the 10 years author Joan Rosier-Jones has lived in Wanganui, she has breathed life into the literary arts here and managed to discover a wealth of writers in the city.

She is the chairwoman of the Whanganui Literary Festival Trust and has held writers' book groups, out of which grew Tangerine Publications.

Over the weekend those involved in the Whanganui Literary Festival, which opens on Friday, toured the homes of former writers, and yesterday from 10am-3pm, local writers held a book fair in the Alexander Library at Queen's Park.

"What an eye-opener the bus tour was," Ms Rosier-Jones said.

The tour took in the Putiki Church where local historian Huia Kirk spoke, and then they went on to 47 Alexander St, the former home of Robert Burchfield, a former student of Wanganui Technical College (City College) and editor of the Oxford Dictionary.

There was only one book in the house when he was born, Ms Rosier-Jones said, of the man who went on to be tutored by CS Lewis at Oxford University and supervised by JRR Tolkien for his preparation of an edition of the Ormulum. The Chicago Herald called Dr Burchfield "the greatest lexicographer".

The tour also went to Tregarth St to the home of mid-19th Century writer Emily Marshall-White and the group was invited by the present owners to look around the garden and home.

"What a wealth of literary writers there are here," Ms Rosier-Jones said at the book fair, where some of those authors spoke or read their works.

Former gardening guru, the late Ken Parnell's Gardening Guide was on sale, as was Hazel Menehira's Nothing as Posh as a Memoir, Hannah Rainforth and Ali Teo's Barnaby Bennett, and Basil Avery's Excelsior, the R&E Tingey Story, alongside others.