Articles in ‘Arts & Culture’

Dolly Parton, 1946–2026 · The voice was unmistakable. The hair was impossible to miss. But it was the heart beneath both that made Dolly Parton an American treasure. By Moon Geezer Talk · Dolly Rebecca Parton was born January 19, 1946, in the mountains of East Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children raised in a one-room cabin. Her family had little money, but they possessed the stories, faith and mountain music that would shape nearly everything…

This year's stories were ‘flash fiction’, 300 words in length, and beginning with “I remember”. “The Blossoming of Minerva Stout” · Local Prize, Winner: Wendy Craig, Pukekohe · I remember what Mother always said. ‘There’s nothing like a funeral, Min, to make you think about your own life.’ I’ve been reminiscing a lot these last few weeks. · It was on the Monday after dinner that Rol died. We were watching television. He put down his cup of…

A poem commemorating Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021). Do not look at me with sorrow, Simply because I sit alone. It is a choice I chose to make To compose the shivers from my bone. · Do not look at this with pity, As it was what I chose to do. It was Philips place to be, I wanted to show that to all of you. · My world of love is shattered, And my heart is broke in two But as…

Everybody loves a story. Telling stories is an age-old art form, and a good story well told stays long in the memories of its listeners or readers. This May, Franklin Writers Group is offering the chance to compose your own short story and finally let the ideas buzzing around in your head, the opportunity to get out. · The Franklin Writers' Group's biennial short story competition is on now. Past competitions have proved popular, with up to 100…

A poem written for the US presidential inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., 20 January 2021. When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We’ve braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what 'just' is isn’t always justice. And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do…

When Whitecliffe art graduate Rachel Allen choose her theme for her end of year exhibition, little did she know that real life would indeed imitate art with the events of 2020 as a real-life virus swept the world. What was going to be a full-on year of creativity in the Whitecliffe studios, surrounded by an abundance of supplies and resources became a year of adaptation and compromise in makeshift home studios. · “The year has totally been…

Franklin Arts Centre presents a significant solo exhibition by Pukekohe based artist Logan Moffat. The exhibition offers a selection of portrait paintings created over three years. The Portraits are intended to capture the essence of the time we live in. Moffat understands his practice as consciousness painting. “The paintings are a reaction to the environment I inhabit, in the ‘real’ world and the digitally created ‘idealised’ one.” · From…

Recognized for many different reasons; a diarist, poet, and punk rock musician, he was part of New York’s post punk and beatnik scene in the 1970’s and 1980’s and had lived a harrowing existence of drug addiction and prostitution in his younger years famously chronicled in his best known novels, the gritty autobiographical, The Basketball Diaries and it’s follow up, Forced Entries. In addition to his literary output, his music also continues to…

He was a brilliant playwright, poet and author who was a larger than life figure in the Victorian era. He advocated for socialism and the literary movement, Aestheticism and was famously imprisoned for his homosexuality at a time of illegality, rife sexual repression and hostility. Nevertheless, he broadened the horizons of 19th century literature and helped open the doors to the development of modernism. Born Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills…

He was the founder of the Gonzo movement, a written style without objectivity and first person narrative and became a prominent writer within counter culture for his life long use of alcohol, drug use, firearms and his contempt for authoritarianism. He was unique and unpredictable, leaving his mark on the literary and real world with a literal bang. Hunter Stockton Thompson was born July 18th, 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky, the first of three…