Welcome to our latest exciting and scintillating episode of Books from the Vault, to be found on Wellington City Libraries’ very own podcast channel called Kōtare: Wellington City Libraries presents. Books from the Vault is a show in which three intrepid librarian explorers take an in-depth and look at the treasure trove of titles found in our stacks.
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They dive deep into the vaults and unearth some wonderfully diverse books. After a brief description, they go on to talk vividly about the wider aspects of these works and, as an added bonus, discuss a range of linked and associated titles.
This latest instalment is a wide-ranging forage, in which one of our CYA Specialists, Mary Barnett, selects the fabulous Amphigorey also by American Gothic cartoonist, Edward Gorey. Next, Zoë Miller, our Ethnic Communities Engagement Specialist, talks about Ethnicity: celebrating Wellington’s cultural diversity. This is a nonfiction book compiled over the course of 52 weeks, using stories originally published in former Evening Post and then The Dominion Post, which feature different ethnic groups living in the Wellington region. The stories bring new ideas and a refreshing diversity, as well as including traditional recipes from each featured group. Finally, our Fiction Specialist Neil Johnstone talks about The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington. First published in 1974, this adult surrealist fantasy novel sadly was for many years was largely forgotten but there has been a huge reappraisal of Leonora Carrington’s work in the last couple of decades. The Hearing Trumpet has subsequently become regarded as a classic of fantasy and surreal writing.
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Amphigorey also / Gorey, Edward
“An anthology of verse of nonsensical verse and macabre illustrations from Tony Award-winning storyteller Edward Gorey.” (Catalogue)
Ethnicity : celebrating Wellington’s cultural diversity
“”Over 52 weeks the former Evening Post and then The Dominion Post featured a different ethnic group living in the Wellington region. Their stories collated in this book are often intensely personal experiences of loss and hope, of a yearning for former lives and memories and of dreams of new lives and opportunities in a tiny, remote land at the bottom of the world” (Adapted from Catalogue)
The hearing trumpet / Carrington, Leonora
“The Hearing Trumpet is the story of 92-year-old Marian Leatherby, who is given the gift of a hearing trumpet only to discover that what her family is saying is that she is to be committed to an institution. But this is an institution where the buildings are shaped like birthday cakes and igloos, where the Winking Abbess and the Queen Bee reign, and where the gateway to the underworld is open. It is also the scene of a mysterious murder. Occult twin to Alice in Wonderland, The Hearing Trumpet is a classic of fantastic literature that has been translated and celebrated throughout the world.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
