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Niel Wright (Frank William Nielsen Wright born 30 September 1933) is a New Zealand poet, literary critic, bibliographer, publisher, and cultural and political commentator. His major piece of work is his epic poem The Alexandrians, self published in 120 books between 1961 and 2007 and totaling some 36,000 lines. He has since self published 1045 post-Alexandrian poems totaling 8331 lines, of which 681 are triolets. He has also published extensive notes to The Alexandrians.
Born in Sydenham Christchurch of mixed French, Scandinavian and English ancestry. His first school was Elmwood in Merivale, his second St Albans. He then attended Christchurch Boys' High School.
Wright moved to Wellington in 1953, at first off and on, then permanently from the 1960s. He attended Victoria University of Wellington, earning a BA and MA (Hons) in English, followed by a PhD on Beowulf . [1] [2] His career was spent in the New Zealand public service. [2]
He is married with one son, one daughter and two grandchildren. He lives in Wellington.
Wright is a prolific author and publisher of his work, he has over 1000 entries listed in the National Library of New Zealand. Almost all are self-published under his imprint Cultural and Political Books, Wellington.
His critical [ dubious ] writings survey New Zealand poetry from 1898 on, covering mainly Georgian but also a few earlier and later writers. From 1985, he has focused on the Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists, and since 2002, increasingly on Shakespeare. His major books are Shakespeare's Ongoing Composition (2008) and Argybargy and the Big D (2009).
He has published essays on numerous New Zealand writers including Maude Ruby Basham (Aunt Daisy), James K. Baxter, George Bouzaid, Alan Claudius Brassington, Alan Brunton, Charles Brasch, Alfred Edward Caddick, Alex Calder, Alistair Campbell, Ronald Brian Castle, R. E. Coury, Charles Doyle, Kate Gerard, Patricia Godsiff, C. W. Grace, Arnold Grierson Lamont Cork, D'Arcy Cresswell, Peter Crisp, Allen Curnow, Eileen Duggan, E. L. Eyre, Bernard Gadd, Michele Leggott, Arthur Frederick Thomas Chorlton, Leigh Davis, Arthur Rex Dugard Fairburn, Gerald Fitzgerald, Patricia Fry, Ruth Gilbert, Denis Glover, Alexander Connell Hanlon, Robin Hyde, Noel Farr Hoggard, Louis Johnson, John Liddell Kelly, Dennis List, Iain Lonie, Bill Manhire, Katherine Mansfield, Charles Allan Marris, Frank McKay, Philip Mincher, Barry Mitcalfe, Count Geoffrey Potocki de Montalk, Peter Munz, Walter Edward Murphy, Marjory Lydia Nicholls, Esma North, Victor O'Leary, W. H. Oliver, Vincent O'Sullivan, Charles Stuart Perry, Mark Pirie, Mary E. Richmond, Harry Ricketts, Betty Riddell, J. H. E.Schroder, Rosemary Seymour, Kendrick Smithyman, Charles Spear, C. K. Stead, John Pyne Snadden, J. E. Weir, Karl Wolfskehl and the Australian writer Pamela Travers.[ citation needed ]
Among the British authors he has written on are Rupert Brooke, Robert Browning, Robin George Collingwood, Frances Cornford, William Davenant, Richard Edwardes, T. S. Eliot, J. M. Edmonds, George Rostrevor Hamilton, Thomas Hardy, John Marston, Thomas Middleton, John Milton, Anthony Munday, Wilfred Owen, George Peele, Geoffrey Pollett, William Rowley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Anthony Thwaite, Alfred Tennyson and William Wordsworth. He has also written on Goethe.[ citation needed ]
Among the New Zealand bibliographers and critics he has written on are Peter Alcock, Rowan Gibbs, Don McKenzie and Joan Stevens. He has published bibliographies of Ivan Bootham, Jeremy Commons, Mark Pirie and Michael O'Leary.[ citation needed ]
Wright's published works include plays, filmscripts, novels, short stories and two verse novellas.
His earliest plays date from the 1950s. From 1984 all his plays have been written in verse. They include Orestes in Phthia, Apollonius at Rome and Women of Sparta. He has also written three filmscripts: Mysterious Eve, Wolf's Gorge, or Operation Fullscale, and Across the Ningthi. His novels include Underprivileged Lovers, Strangers in the Blood, Caisson, and The Last Time I Saw Turfit. His latest is Weston Burley's Business in Great Waters (2007). He has also written The Fall of the Modern West, a book on the philosophy of history.
He has published two major[ dubious ] works of literary autobiography: Brilliantly Wright (1989) and Being, Obsession and Besetment (2007).
Wright's most recent work is The Pop Artist's Garland: Selected Poems 1952-2009, drawing on his epic poem The Alexandrians as well as his post-Alexandrian work.
Alfred Domett was the fourth premier of New Zealand, a close friend of the poet Robert Browning and author of the epic poem Ranolf and Amohia, a South Sea Day Dream. Born in England, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1842 and remained there for a further thirty years, holding many significant political posts.
Denis James Matthews Glover was a New Zealand poet and publisher. Born in Dunedin, he attended the University of Canterbury where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts, and subsequently lectured. He worked as a reporter and editor for a time, and in 1937 founded the Caxton Press, which published the works of many well-known New Zealand writers of the day. After a period of service in World War II, he and his friend Charles Brasch founded the literary magazine Landfall, which Caxton began publishing in 1947.
Lauris Dorothy Edmond was a New Zealand poet and writer.
The Outhwaite family were early settlers in Auckland, New Zealand and were a prominent family in Auckland in the first 85 years of the city's existence. They made substantial contributions to the legal, administrative, musical, literary, artistic, social and sporting life of the city. They were also important in the establishment and growth of the Catholic Church in Auckland and through their social and philanthropic activities. Their influence still continues, especially in respect of their donation of two areas of land in the central Auckland suburb of Grafton which are now Outhwaite Park and St Peter's College. The family also enabled the creation of a conservation reserve in the Hen and Chicken Islands.
Florence Ruth Gilbert was a New Zealand poet whose work has been widely published in New Zealand and Commonwealth countries. She was born in Greytown and educated at Hamilton High School and the Otago School of Physiotherapy.
Michael O'Leary is a New Zealand publisher, poet, novelist, performer, and bookshop proprietor. He publishes under the imprint Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, which he founded in 1984. He runs a bookshop with Irving Lipshaw, Kakariki Books, from the Paekakariki railway station.
Mark Pirie is a New Zealand poet, writer, literary critic, anthologist, publisher, and editor. He is best known for his Generation X New Zealand anthology The NeXt Wave, which included an 8,000-word introduction (1998), the literary journals JAAM and broadsheet, a book cover photo series of tributes to famous rock albums, and the small press HeadworX Publishers in Wellington, New Zealand.
Marjory Lydia Nicholls was a New Zealand poet, teacher and drama producer. She was a significant figure in New Zealand poetry and theatre between 1910 and 1930, and became a well-known personality in Wellington, with interests in theatre, writing and the arts.
The 1947 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by King George VI on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders, and to celebrate the passing of 1946 and the beginning of 1947. They were announced on 1 January 1947.
The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 3 June 2019.
The 2003 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders, and to celebrate the passing of 2002 and the beginning of 2003. They were announced on 31 December 2002.
The 1978 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1977 and the beginning of 1978, and were announced on 31 December 1977.
The 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 1 June 1998.
The 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 11 June 1988.
The 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 12 June 1982.
The 1988 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1987 and the beginning of 1988, and were announced on 31 December 1987.
The 1990 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1989 and the beginning of 1990, and were announced on 30 December 1989.
The 1992 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1991 and the beginning of 1992, and were announced on 31 December 1991.
The 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 2 June 1997.
The 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 4 June 2001.
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