Bill Direen
William (Bill) Direen is a New Zealand-born (1957) writer and musician whose work includes poetry, fiction, songs and music-theatre pieces. He was 2010 University of Auckland Writer Fellow, in partnership with Creative New Zealand and the Michael King Writers’ Centre, Devonport. He has been musical designer/manager of an independent music group The Bilders since 1980.
Fiction
His first novel Wormwood (1997) tells of a Yugoslavian refugee in Berlin. Nusquama (2002) is about the society and families connected to a fictitious West Coast (NZ) rock band. Other novels include Jules (2003), about an art history teacher in Paris, and the futuristic sci-fi Song of the Brakeman (2006). Shorter work includes Digging Ground[1], Sunshower, and Coma. His most recent works are Enclosures (a transgeneric novel in five parts, 2008), L (a novella set in a futuristic New Zealand, 2010), and Devonport, A Diary (2011).
Publications
- Devonport, A Diary Impressions of Devonport, Auckland, during the tenure of the University of Auckland Fellowship at the Michael King Writers Centre in 2010. (Signalmans House Series Nº.1, Holloway Press, University of Auckland, 2011) ISBN 978-0-9864618-0-4
- L Novella, in an anthology of NZ speculative fiction writers A Foreign Country. Random Static (Anna Caro & Juliet Buchanan, editors). 2010. ISBN 978-0-473-16916-9
- Enclosures Transgeneric novel in five parts. (Titus Books). 2008. ISBN 978-1-877441-06-6
- Song of the Brakeman Apocalyptic vision of a future South Pacific. Science fiction novel. (Titus Books. 2006) ISBN 0-9582586-7-8
- Coma Three novellas: a female voice narrative of a casualty at a rock concert; the voice of a gravedigger on a barren island; the voice of an overweight hitchhiker. (Titus Books, 2005). ISBN 0-9582586-0-0
- Jules 24 hours in the mind of an art teacher in Paris. Novel. (Alpha/Addenda). 2002. ISBN 0-9583266-4-9
- Nusquama Pop-band road-novel (Alpha/Addenda, 1999). ISBN 0-9583266-8-1
- Wormwood Yugoslavian refugee falls foul of the Berlin underworld. Novel. SPORT 1997. ISSN 0113-7891
- Some volumes of poetry have appeared between 1988 (Inklings, Nag's Head Press) and the present Dunedin Poems (Kilmog Press, 2011).
- Direen is editor of Percutio, a literary annual (ed.) of trans-cultural writing, featuring poetry, fiction extracts, translations & versions, essays, reviews and history. 2006, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11(null), -12. ISSN 1953-1427.
- Guest Editor of Landfall 219 'On Music'. ISBN (N.B. this issue only) 978-1-877372 98-8
- Guest Editor of brief 36 and brief 42. ISSN 1175-9313.
Critical Responses
- Early theatre work (1981-87): “hard driving rhythms and surreal imagery”.[1]
- James K. Baxter’s Three Mimes “receive[d] intelligent and effective treatment”.[2]
- To Bitumen (play) “an evocative memory piece… strong on physical sensations”.[3]
- To Fowkes Alive (music-theatre): “a struggle against primeval and futuristic obstacles”,[4] “a gentle ‘musical delirium’ which raises smiles rather than laughter”,[5] “the surrealistic tale of a ‘petrolhead’ whose life flashes before his eyes the moment that he dies in a violent accident”[6]
- To Dial a Claw (music-theatre): “a living experiment in alternative staging”;[7]
- To Raoul (song cycle): “an exploration of exploitation”,[8] a story told “from its beginnings in the wastelands of kiwi suburbia to its chilly… conclusion.”.[9]
- To Wormwood: “Entropy and death read as metaphors for the implosion of post-war Europe and the failure of capitalism.”.[10]
- To Nusquama: “A well-written often humorous paradigm for the 21st century”.[11]
- To The Impossible: “Direen’s heightened ear for absurdity serves this collection well”[12]
- To Jules: “Romantic stereotypes collide noisily with modern realities and growing older means a confused prostate and even more complexing emotions. Jules is the story of a man at life’s pivotal point.”.[13] "It's a delightful book, but it's a book to read as series of literary compositions."[14] Jules was also described as “an indolent digression through European culture, art and Paris.”[15]
- To the novellas: “a quick and devastating appearance”[16]
- To Song of the Brakeman: “a vividly conceived world here, manifesting slowly and brilliantly through its accumulating signs”[17]
References
- ^ Lisa Warrington, NZ Books, October 2003
- ^ John Farnsworth, Christchurch Press, 16 November 1984
- ^ Lisa Warrington, NZ Books, October 2003
- ^ Jane Bowron, Dominion, June 1989
- ^ Laurie Atkinson, Evening Post, June 1989
- ^ Neil Hickman, Music New Zealand, 1991
- ^ Mark Gobbi, March 1991, City Voice
- ^ Direen turns stage-show into mini rock-opera, Evening Post, Wednesday March 10, 1993
- ^ Bernadette Rae, NZ Herald, 25 July 1992
- ^ Virginia Were, NZ Listener, 23 June 1997
- ^ Anna Chinn, NZ Listener, December 2002
- ^ Kate Belgrave, Listener, May 25, 2002.
- ^ Christopher Moore, The Press, Christchurch, 27 March 2004
- ^ David Hill reviewing Jules on 10th December, 2004. Radio New Zealand, National Programme.
- ^ Norman Bilbrough, Listener, May 2004.
- ^ Kapka Kassabova, Listener 16 January 1999.
- ^ Jen Crawford, Landfall 214, November 2007.
External links
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Direen, Bill |
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Christchurch, New Zealand |
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