New Zealand and the Tasman writing world, 1890–1945

A common theme among the settler colonies of the British world is concern about promising intellectuals and writers leaving for larger cities and cultural metropolises elsewhere. Early twentieth-century New Zealand is no exception, and is seen as a place of ‘exile’ for writers who were forced to leave and become expatriates in places like London or Sydney in order to fulfil their literary ambitions. On closer investigation, however, it is revealed that this problem has been greatly exaggerated. The existence of a ‘colonial writing world’ meant that New Zealand writers were not exiled in small or geographically isolated communities. They participated in a system of cultural diffusion, literary networks and personal interactions that gave writers access to the cultural capital of the British world through lines of communication established by colonial expansion. The most immediate parts of the colonial writing world were the eastern cities of Australia, the literary communities of which were closely linked with New Zealand. The opportunities that this ‘Tasman writing world’ provided (in combination with wider colonial networks) meant that physical location in New Zealand was not a hindrance to literary success.