Through a psychological lens, Joan B. delivered her inaugural presentation on the life and works of New Zealand-born writer Janet Frame. Joan’s well-researched and engaging talk clearly reflects her thirty-three years of experience as a junior and senior high school teacher.
Frame was a new discovery for Joan, and she quickly learned that books are not easily found in local bookstores or libraries. Nevertheless, Joan was successful in purchasing six titles online. Joan provided thoughtful overviews of The Lagoon and Other Stories (1951), Owls Do Cry (1957), Scented Gardens for the Blind (1963), To the Is-Land (1982), An Angel at My Table (1984), and The Envoy from Mirror City (1985). The last three books make up a three-volume autobiography, with Angel at My Table being Joan’s favourite and adapted for film by Jane Campion. Whether fiction or non-fiction, much of Frame’s writing retells her own life as a child and of her experiences in and out of psychiatric hospitals.
Frame was born in Dunedin, New Zealand and is believed—through her Scottish ancestry—to be a descendent of William of Orange. Her father was a railway worker and her mother worked as a housemaid. The Frame family moved between railway towns finding it difficult to make ends meet.
Due to stress and anxiety, Frame attempted to take her own life while training to be a teacher. She was subsequently institutionalized for a total of eight years in various psychiatric hospitals, where she was incorrectly diagnosed with schizophrenia. During her confinement, Frame wrote and published her first book, The Lagoon and Other Stories. Just days before a scheduled lobotomy, her book won one of New Zealand’s most prestigious literary awards, leading to her discharge. Reflecting on this time, Frame writes, “It is little wonder that I value writing as a way of life when it actually saved my life.”
In the following years, Frame wrote prolifically with her first novel, Owls Do Cry, lauded as “New Zealand’s first great novel” and a “modernist masterpiece.”
Following her mother’s passion for poetry, Frame found great joy in writing verse. She states, “Poetry is attendance upon the world.” Joan read two of Frame’s moving poems: “Child” and “Birch Trees.”
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in Janet Frame and her works. In celebration of her centennial birthday in August 2024, the “Janet Frame Bookshelf” exhibition in Dunedin was curated to showcase the esteemed writers literary and personal papers. Additionally, “100 Days of Janet Frame” was a radio program that broadcast one poem every day for 100 days.
Congratulations, Joan, on delivering such an insightful and enjoyable first presentation!
Posted by Mooréa G.