Bücher von Michael O'Leary

Based on Dr O'Leary's PhD thesis 'Social and Literary Constraints on Women Writers in New Zealand: 1945-1970' this books explores and exposes the sexist mores of the NZ literary establishment, both publishers and writers, from the end of World War 2 up to the feminists movements of the late 1960s and 1970s.Responses to Michael O'Leary's Wednesday's WomenMichael O'Leary's book makes a unique contribution to knowledge about women writers in New Zealand during the 1940-1970 period, providing insights into the constraints which inhibited their equal representation in the publishing industry of the time.Dr Alison LaurieDr O'Leary's extensive background as a reader, author, publisher, bookseller, and social justice advocate with unique access to unpublished material and literary figures of the time equipped him wonderfully to write this thesis and book.Prue Hyman

"The history of small, private presses in this country is also (largely) the history of our literature." (Michael Gifkins' 1990 'Bookmarks', New Zealand Listener). This quote graphically states the case for the important place small press publishing has in the literary culture of Aotearoa New Zealand. Expanding this further, it is true to say that without the existence of such presses many of our writers, both well-known and obscure, may never have had the opportunity of being published authors, especially at the fledgling time of their career. This book, will endeavour to prove that our literature would be the poorer if such publishers didn't exist, that we may have little literary industry or culture without them.

During the writing of his autobiography, Die Bibel (published in 2016 by Steele/Roberts), Michael O'Leary began a parallel fictional autobiography which he conceived as an 'apocrypha' of additional aspects to his intellectual & emotional life, combining myriad intertwingings of previous works to form a synthesis, a kind of Rainbows End of the Mind, as its characters & events ride a rollercoaster of the psyche, a tipi haere helter-skelter on what might be called the Stratosfear or WindstarZ encompassing a spiritual weltanschauung of history & life. It reads not unlike the earliest Dadaist writings & therefore has the sub-title: a Surrealist Novel. Perhaps it's about dislocation in society: perhaps it isn't. Maybe it's about a suburban man becoming unsettled in real life & entering the 'other' world of the imagination: maybe it isn't. Apocrypha Scripta is about identity & belonging. It looks at the Sixties generation of 'peace & love' & anti-materialism which morphed & degenerated into the 'I, me, mine' of the reforms (a much abused and maligned word) of the mid-eighties & nineties which created the 21st Century Schizoid Person, fuelled by technology & greed, love & dreams, war & peace, culminating in the 'stop the world, I wanna get off' motif, as the earth cries from Cloud 9: wiith 2020 Vision & Reality of Covid-19 & the 'Existential Crisis' of realising that we need to not want so much, as well as finally understanding that the word 'Existential' might really have a meaning. Amen. "O'Leary's wonderful novel spans the global, local, and personal. Intensely beautiful and deeply dark material is consistently tempered with superior mad-cap word-play (in various languages, te reo Maori, German, Irish, Samoan etc), because O'Leary is a poet and a trickster. The writing is constantly deft and energetic, pulling the reader on and on through places, people, and extraordinary scenarios. O'Leary uses many vehicles literally and figuratively; among which are poetry, art, music, dreams, and trains. He keeps this ride careening along the tracks. Time is fluid; we can segue from the Scottish clearances to Covid seamlessly in one sentence. It is an enormously satisfying and mind-blowing novel and requires total commitment from the reader. A culmination of a life's work so far from a fine mind with a five-dimensional view of life." Unity Books, WellingtonNote: This is a parallel fictional biography to the autobiography Die Bibel (Steel Roberts 2016).

"After doing my research, soliciting and collecting all the articles, I started to think of a way to put together a book on the Earl. I had several ideas: one was doing a kind of 'rock star' presentation of the Earl as the best way to bring out his unique personality and qualities as an artist, writer, performer and bookshop proprietor as well as highlighting the wide range of interests throughout his life. Secondly, there was a desire to put together a type of 'literary companion' to ESAW. Many of the pieces chosen on his novels for instance will help to treat the work more seriously and provide scholars and researchers starting points for further discussion of his work. The final idea was doing a book in celebration of the Earl and his life (on the 25th Anniversary of his publishing company). The 'rock star' A to Z approach also seemed to be the best way to maintain a focus on the texts at hand as well as inclusiveness (a hallmark of Michael's publishing approach). Unfortunately, not every book published by ESAW could be included and in some instances the 'rock' theme behind the book helped shape the selection with a majority of the books and poems discussed here having some cross over between literary culture and pop culture" - Mark Pirie (editor of The Earl is in ... 25 Years of the Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop)Some of those featured in the book include: David Eggleton, Elizabeth Smither, Nigel Brown, Gregory O'Brien, Roger Steele, Iain Sharp, John Quilter and many others from the New Zealand literary and artistic community.This book is destined to become a valuable resource for anyone interested in NZ literature over the past quarter of a century, it is also an entertaining look at the bohemian culture of the time, full of rich anecdotes as well as factual information

Excerpt from Introduction by Iain Sharp: "Irishness, Maoritanga, proudly held working-class values, rock 'n' roll, buses, trains, ferries, Baudelaire - you'll find them all in this book. Moods vary from poem to poem, as you would expect from a lifetime's work. Inevitably, there are moments of sadness and a deep anger at social inequities underlies some of the satire. Yet what strikes me most when I leaf through Michael's collected poems is how often the tone is celebratory. What prompts Michael to write? I think he's driven by a need to pay homage to the people (whether pop stars, pals or partners), places and times he's loved. There's an inextinguishable joyousness at the heart of Michael's work that makes reading him an upbeat and uplifting experience."

Michael O'Leary tells the story of factory worker Patrick Mika Fitzgerald, who after several years of working at the same job and looking after his ailing mother, is freed from these ties by death and redundancy. He embarks on an existential train journey in pursuit of a woman he has dreamed of meeting. When reality and dreams colide his world is turned into a previously unknown state of moral real dilema.Responses to Michael O'Leary's novel Unlevel Crossings'Unlevel Crossings is a Joycean language experience and partly it's a literary and political satire, but I think it's also a down-to-earth book about recent changes in New Zealand society.'Iain Sharp, Sunday Star Times feature article 16/06/02'A wonderful pageant...''The book is rich with M¿ori poetry, M¿ori vocabulary, and not ostentatious...''The book is totally natural ... and astonishing textured language ...''... a very rewarding book indeed ...''... Michael O'Leary is a very distinctive and very singular writer and person in New Zealand ...''... it's a lovely magic exploration on all sorts of levels ...'David Hill, reviewer, Radio New Zealand 31/07/02'Michael O'Leary ... has a poet's love of the sounds of words ...'Gavin McLean, reviewer, Otago Daily Times 17/08/02'This gets my vote as the most original New Zealand novel of the year.'Iain Sharp, Reviewer, Sunday Star Times 18/08/02'O'Leary can pull out the most heartfelt prose, particularly when describing the natural beauty of this land.'Michael Larson, reviewer, New Zealand Herald 20/08/02'It is a splendidly droll novel, memorably comic in its unlevel absurdities, its crossover jesting.'David Eggleton, in JAAM 19, 2003.