New Zealand Writers

BENNETTS, Marlene

Bennetts is a popular participant in the Book Council's Writers in Schools programme.

BENNETTS, Marlene (1938 - ) is a poet and writer of fiction for adults and children. Her poetry has appeared in New Zealand and overseas in anthologies including Katherine Mansfield Centennial Issue (1998), Poetry Kanto (1989), Poets for Africa (1986), and The President's Awards for Literary Excellence (1995). Her awards for poetry include the Delores Boccanera Poetry Prize, awarded by the British literary magazine Dandelion, which writes of her work: "Marlene Bennetts' command of words reminds us of the Greek classics...".

A collection of poetry Beyond the Coast (2001) completes the trilogy that began in 1990 with Return to the Coast and Coastal Cornerstones.

Of Ngati Awa descent, Bennetts has had eleven children's books translated into Maori by the University of Waikato between 1992 and 1998. Titles translated include The Feathered Cloak, The Magic Greenstone and Who's Afraid of the Taniwha? Other titles for children include Hector to the Rescue (1996), and two novels for young adults, Wing High Gooftah (1995), and The Aroha Pendant (1999).

Bennetts is a popular participant in the Book Council's Writers in Schools programme: "We felt as if Marlene had always been part of our school. Her warmth, good-humour and interest in our students made for an enjoyable and interesting day."

(KC.)

Updated Information

At the Queen's Birthday Honours 2003. Marlene Bennetts was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (M.N.Z.M) in recognition of her services to literature.

Skalaska's New Home (Emjay Publishing, 2005).

Bennett has also published a collection of poems for children, Caboodle, with Deborah Macowan (Emjay Publishing, 2005).

Waikaka: A New Home was published by Emjay Publishing in 2006. Bennetts also wrote No Ordinary Flower Girl which was illustrated by Trish Bowles (Reed, 2006).

Writers in Schools

Marlene Bennetts is available to visit 5-16 year olds in the Christchurch area as part of the Writers in Schools programme. She is happy to discuss poetry, children's interests, New Zealand environment and endangered species, and New Zealand history. She would prefer to speak to groups of 35 students.

KAPAI: KIDS AUTHORS PICTURES AND INFORMATION

Questions for Marlene Bennetts

Where do you live?
Christchurch

What kinds of books do you like to read?
Children’s books, research books, history books, adult fiction, poetry and short stories.

Do you have a favourite writer?
Emily Dickinson for her poetry. Rosamund Pilcher for adult books. Joy Cowley and David Hill for their children’s books.

Where do you get your ideas?
From what I overhear – book titles, newspapers, what both children and adults tell me. The radio and TV and everyday life happenings.

What do you like best about being an author?
It’s like doing gold panning. With every story I find out something different about writing and it’s exciting as I never know – like gold panning – whether I’m going to discover a BIG nugget or a bottle full of golden flakes. I never know what’s going to happen until I finish a manuscript.

Special Questions for Primary School

Do you have any pets?
A yellow budgie – I did have another green one, but sadly he passed away last week.

Do you have a favourite colour?
Yellow

A favourite food?
Freshly caught fish and cheesecake, but not at the same time.

Do you have a favourite movie?
Shrek

Do you have a favourite game or sport?
Croquet and swimming.

What do you like most about being an author?
Going to visit schools and meeting and talking with children – learning about things I don’t know about to write another story.

How do you make a book?
I send my typewritten stories to publishers and sometimes I publish a story myself which is quite a long procedure.

Where do you go on your holidays?
I travel all over New Zealand – I like exploring the countryside, especially walking in the bush – I like taking long boat trips around places like the Marlborough Sounds.

What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I made up this poem to sing about a teacher I didn’t like and my friends and I would hide and sing it whenever he was on duty. It went like this –

Beware, Beware, Take care, Take care, of the fiery dragon without any hair.

The teacher was bald!! I had to eat lunch in the classroom and stay there all lunch hour for a week, writing out 5,000 lines as a punishment.

Some Questions for Secondary School

How did you get started as a writer?
I used to make up scary stories when I was little to frighten my younger brothers when they wouldn’t let me join in with their games…. It worked too!!

Who inspired you when you were getting started?
An elderly lady who was a well-known writer and had things published all around the world.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to be a writer?
Write about things you know and like. Learn about things that you would like to know. Read a lot, listen, observe. But write, write and write.

Is it hard to make a living as a writer in New Zealand?
Yes.

What were you like as a teenager?
A tomboy - was brought up with mostly boy cousins and two brothers.

Athletic – I played hockey, tennis, swimming, basketball, softball and marching.

I left school at 16 and went to work as an office secretary 400 miles from home. I was engaged at 18 and got married at 19. I liked travelling and learning about different things. I like hearing stories about the olden days my grandparents told me. I was rather strong-willed and sometimes outspoken which got me into hot water at times. Apart from all this, I was just an ordinary teenager I think.

Are there any other stories you’d like to tell us?
I lived in a number of sawmill camps in the North and South Islands when I was growing up. We children used to play together like one big family.

One Saturday afternoon we were whitebaiting at the creek at Granite Creek sawmill camp. My thirteen-year-old cousin, Vernon, suddenly got an idea for a new game and asked me to join in. I felt really grown-up as I was one of the youngest there. I didn’t feel so good though when Vernon told me what the game was.

He took a live whitebait from his bucketful and told me that I had to swallow it and then mark the spot with my finger where it got to when it had stopped wriggling. The winner being the one whose fish got the furthest down.

I spit the fish out the first time he put it in my mouth. But quickly swallowed it down the next time. It tickled its way down my insides. When it stopped, I quickly marked the spot beneath my ribcage. Then proudly said, "Your turn now."

With green faces Vernon and the older kids suddenly remembered the job they had to do at home. As they were leaving, I heard one of them say, "YUK! She really ate a live fish!"

It was a long time before Vernon ate whitebait fritters after that.