Issue 31 December 2018 Published by the Katherine Mansfield Society, Bath, England
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ISSN 2040- 2597 Issue 31 December 2018 Published by the Katherine Mansfield Society, Bath, England Photo credit: Christian Kleinhempl Issue 31 December 2018 2 Contents KMS News and Prizes p. 3 ‘Unveiling of Katherine Mansfield statue in Bad Wörishofen’ by Christian Kleinhempl p. 4 ‘Celebrating Katherine’s 130th Birthday in Bad Wörishofen’ by Monika Sobotta and Janet Wilson p.9 Conference Announcement: Inspirations and Influences, Krakow, Poland July 2019 p. 12 ‘Commemorative Weekend in Gray, France: 24-25 November 2018’ by Gerri Kimber p. 15 KMS Annual Birthday Lecture ‘Nearer than anyone else’: Katherine Mansfield, D. H. Lawrence, and the ‘Modern’ Short Story, by Lesley Sharpe p. 18 ‘Two Anzacs meet in London’ by Cynthia Crosse p. 20 Review: Gurdjieff Reconsidered: The Life, the Teachings, the Legacy by Gerri Kimber p. 24 ‘Katherine Mansfield and Michael Arlen: a footnote (or two)’ by Philip Ward p.26 Call for submissions: Heron magazine issue 2 p. 30 ‘Thoughts about Katherine Mansfield’ by Judith Hendra p.31 ‘Friends of the Hamilton Gardens Report’ by Virginia Graham p .34 ‘Inspired Story, Inspired Garden’ by Bernard Breen p. 35 ‘Curator Talk and Mansfield Garden Walk’ by Martin Griffiths p. 36 Issue 31 December 2018 3 With multiple events on the calendar in England and Europe this (northern) summer it is likely that some of us missed out: a statue unveiling in Germany was on the same weekend as the Annual Birthday Lecture. Thanks to Monika Sobotta, Lesley Sharpe, Christian Kleinhempl and Janet Wilson we have extensive reportage in this edition of the newsletter. I was lucky to visit the KM Portrait Exhibition, as well as the WTF (Women’s Theatre Festival), events which were held simultaneously in Wellington in September. Incidentally, Penelope Jackson, who curated the former, used her influence to borrow the 1918 Anne Estelle Rice portrait for Waikato Museum two months later (I will explain why shortly). This was somewhat of a coup for Hamilton! On all counts these events were enhanced by entertaining and expert presentation from Jackson and others. Commemorations abounded this year worldwide, mainly concerning the 130th anniversary of the birth of KM. If you were in France you may have been able to attend the unveiling of a new plaque in Gray: for details refer to Gerri Kimber’s report (avec photos!). While on the topic of France, it was interesting to read that Paula Morris has been chosen as the 2018 Katherine Mansfield Fellow by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand and will take up residency in Menton next year. She will be writing a play based on the life of Jean Rhys. Further in this issue, the research updates from Cynthia Crosse, Judith Hendra and Philip Ward let us explore the lives of Leila Waddell, Beatrice Hastings and Michael Arlen, respectively. After all, these are the wild people and places we expect to encounter within KM scholarship. For further reading check out Gerri Kimber’s review of Roger Lipsey’s new book on Gurdjieff (page 24 of this issue). Yes, the Hamilton Gardens new ‘fantasy’ garden finally opened. It has been a long time coming and to support this occasion the Waikato Museum presented not a KM exhibition of its own [there are many other fascinating ones including The Topp Twins (1958-) and Giuseppe Castiglioni (1688-1766)]. Also don't forget Cheryl Paget’s presentation ‘Arthur Ransome and Katherine Mansfield: Parallel Lives’ on Saturday 19 January 2019 6pm at the Majestic Centre, Willis St in Wellington. Finally, have a safe and pleasant festive season and New Year! Martin Griffiths, Editor We are delighted to announce that Kym Brindle is the winner of our competition and the recipient of Wayne Drew’s signed novel Uneasy Dreamers. Many congratulations to Kym who correctly identified Heron as Leslie Beauchamp’s middle name. To enter our next competition answer the following: In which city is the next KMS conference Inspirations and Influences being held in? The winner will receive a copy of Katherine Mansfield: A Portrait (the colour catalogue of the recent exhibition at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Te Pükenga Whakaata). Entries to [email protected] 1 Issue 31 December 2018 4 Unveiling of Katherine Mansfield statue in Bad Wörishofen by Christian Kleinhempl Bad Wörishofen marked Katherine Mansfield’s 130th birthday with a series of festivities during the five days preceding the anniversary, culminating in the unveiling of a memorial statue on Sunday 14th of October in the spa town’s beautiful Kurpark (spa gardens) next to one of the garden’s ponds, the ‘Eisbergweiher’. The statue had been erected only 3 days prior to that Sunday’s ceremony, however - as it was hidden under a white blanket - none of the more than fifty people who had gathered to attend the ceremony had yet had the opportunity to get a glimpse of the work, apart of course from the creator Rolf Bauer who was also among the audience. All were waiting with great anticipation in a grove of oak trees on this exceptionally beautiful late autumn day enjoying the view of the fountain in the middle of the Eisbergweiher spraying high into the cloudless October sky. Meanwhile, under a white tent especially set up for the occasion the string quartet of the ‘Musica Hungarica’ Kurorchester (in the accompanying flyer the orchestra was even named ‘Katherine Mansfield-Kammerorchester’) was preparing for their opening piece. Shortly after two o’clock - slightly behind schedule - the ceremony was officially opened as Bad Wörishofen’s mayor Paul Gruschka strode up to the lectern and in a dignified voice commenced the opening speech. He gave a very special welcome to the distinguished guests, among them notably New Zealand’s ambassador Rupert Thomas Holborow and his charming wife Pauline Nesdale, Prof. Dr. Janet Wilson of Northampton University, vice president of the Katherine Mansfield Society (KMS) and the society’s member Ms Monika Sobotta. A special mention was made of Mr Henning Hoffmann from the nearby town of Memmingen. The mayor credited him not only for giving birth to the initiative that finally led to the statue’s erection but also for his valuable support to the undertaking by sharing his impressive knowledge regarding Katherine Mansfield’s life and works. The mayor continued to explain that the purpose of the statue created by (in the mayor’s words) ‘unserem Kunstschmied’ (our - the town’s - artist blacksmith) Rolf Bauer was to establish a 2 Issue 31 December 2018 5 permanent memory of Katherine Mansfield in Bad Wörishofen where Katherine Mansfield not only spent some months during 1909 but which she also chose as the setting for her short story collection ‘In a German pension’. Very much impressed that by her urge to write Katherine Mansfield was able to overcome her fears and her health problems, he furthermore highlighted Katherine Mansfield’s talent for satiric characterization of Bad Wörishofen’s illustrious guests as well as her interest in the role of ‘the German woman’ at that time. He went on to explain that the contemplative location close to the pond had been chosen by Bad Wörishofen’s Verschönerungsverein (the town’s ‘beautification society’) which had also provided financing to the project. Here, so he wished, pointing at the pond’s bank, the author Katherine Mansfield should invite park strollers to linger while finding relaxation in a book. He closed his speech by welcoming representatives of town council, church, convent and press. His Excellency the New Zealand ambassador to Germany Rupert Thomas Holborow began his speech by expanding upon some of his personal connections that he felt to Katherine Mansfield as an author. One was the warm memory that he had kept of his late mother who, he remembered, simply had loved Katherine Mansfield’s books. Then there was a geographic connection, he said, as he and his wife owned a house in Karori, the Wellington suburb where Katherine Mansfield had been partially raised in. Ranking her along with scientist Ernest Rutherford and adventurer Edmund Hillary among the national icons he emphasized that Katherine Mansfield was one of those who had given New Zealand some sense of itself. The literary figures and writers Katherine Mansfield mingled amongst and with, like Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence and others of the Bloomsbury group, he added, were distinguished characters and creative writers who for us had left a legacy to savour and to enjoy and who were still capable to provide an exotic edge and allure in literary circles. Quoting from her notebooks the famous ‘The mind I love must have wild places’, he felt those extraordinary talents typified by such restless spirit and bohemian dimension. He continued by portraying Katherine Mansfield as an early pioneer for a better New Zealand, a country with its own sophistications and a liberal spirit where diversity is tolerated and a bit of wildness encouraged, reminding the audience how uncomfortable Katherine Mansfield had felt at the time in New Zealand with the treatment of the indigenous people for which she herself had developed a strong affection and respect. Suffering from the constrained provincialism in New Zealand, he acknowledged that in Europe Katherine Mansfield’s free spirit was able to roam more freely, sometimes in a troubled sense. He ended his speech by expressing his thanks for being hosted in such a charming town, suggesting that Katherine Mansfield would be honored by the continuing affection Bad Wörishofen had for her and her writing. 3 Issue 31 December 2018 6 After the ‘Musica Hungarica’ Kurorchester had ended their interlude, Prof. Janet Wilson, vice chair of the Katherine Mansfield Society, expressed her pleasure at what she called a fitting and deserving tribute to Katherine Mansfield, greatly appreciating the meaning of the civic occasion that memorialized Katherine Mansfield and her stories over 100 years later.