THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

Formed in Soweto, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002 The Soweto Gospel Choir is 30 strong ensemble.   They blend elements of African gospel, Negro spirituals, reggae and a selection of material from the American songbook. Their title hints at being a spiritual group.   But they are so much more than just a church group.     Their albums ‘Blessed’, ‘African Spirit’ and ‘Freedom’ have won Grammies for Best Traditional World Music Album in 2006, 2007 and 2019, respectively. They also feature on the Peter Gabriel/Thomas Newman song "Down to Earth", written for Pixar's 2008 feature film WALL-E, which was nominated for the Golden Globe.   And they’ve done work for Peter Gabriel's tenth studio album ‘’i/o’, including the tracks, ‘Road to Joy’ and ‘Live and Let Live’. They’ve performed for Nelson Ma...

Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Aotearoa New Zealand Festival Of The Arts It’s the first week of the Festival, and it’s all go.   After a day of Book events and galleries, I was ready for some music and fun.   We all pile into the prestigious Michael Fowler Centre, where the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra are setting up.   Immediately I’m thinking this is going to be one classy night.   Who was this Meow person?   A cabaret singer, I knew that.   But not much more.   I knew from the pre-sale videos that she likes to play with her audiences, string them along.   She has a 20’s and 30’s pre-war vibe.   She’s worked with lounge acts like Pink Martini.   She’s had sell-out seasons in New York, Berlin, London’s West End and at the Sydney Opera House.   She’s been named one of the “Top Performers of the Year” by The New Yorker. Think Liza Minnelli and Sally Bowles, an American adrift in pre-Nazi Berlin (from the original movie ‘Cabaret’ 1972). ...

A new anthology highlights the flourishing of the short story in New Zealand. Contributors to Hiwa, Whiti Hereaka, Tina Makereti and Emma Hislop discuss the art of the short story, the whakapapa of the Māori short story, and why the form is having such a moment. Hosted by Stacey Morrison. We hunkered down in the dark and dingy Black Sparrow bar.  A small but attentive group were ready for an early afternoon of korero about how to write MĀORI SHORT STORIES. HIWA is the newest anthology.   In conversations led by Stacey Morrison, all three all traversed a number of topics all circling around what it means to write in a Māori way, acknowledging who went before and what it meant to have a Māori view.  Particularly, Witi Ihimaera ('Pounamu Pounamu'), Patricia Grace ('Tu') and Kerry Hulme ('The Bone People').    They talked of the whakama sometimes felt, that they had at not being Māori enough.  Tina Makareti acknowledged that she was ginger haired and...

It was a good turn out for this, the first of a whole weekend of reading and writing events cover a plethora of subjects, genres and authors.  It all kicked off with Jane Smiley, an American novelist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992 for her novel 'A Thousand Acres'. Smiley started with a short reading from her novel 'A Dangerous Business', an historical fiction set in Monterey California in the 1850s during the Gold Rush.   It's an entertaining, light murder mystery.  The book is inspired by a work by Edgar Allan Poe called "The Murders in the Rue Morgue. "  The two main characters Eliza and Jean are determined to find out who killed their missing friends.   There's general conversation about the book.  Smiley notes that a ‘Dangerous Business’ is not just about friendship of women but instead a story of a revealing of a series killer. Through a protracted conversation, which you really needed to know Jane Smiley's work to under...

The NZ Booklovers Awards 2024 shortlist, announced today, features a mixture of debut authors and well-known writers.  Books by Carl Nixon, DV Bishop, Kelly Gibney, Sarah and Otis Frizzell, Eileen Merriman, David Hill, James Russell and Peter Millett are among the diverse titles nominated for the NZ Booklovers Awards, along with exciting new writers and outstanding debut books. With five categories now on offer, four books are shortlisted in the new Young Adult category, six books in the Junior Fiction and Picture Book categories, seven in the Lifestyle category, and due to this year’s superb quality, eight books are shortlisted in the Adult Fiction category. NZ Booklovers Director Karen McMillan says the awards, now in their sixth year, received 119 entries, all of a very high standard. ‘It was a pleasure to read so many outstanding books written by talented New Zealand authors,’ Karen McMillan says. ‘We are delighted to celebrate the shortlisted authors after ...