In the latest episode of our NZSA Oral History Podcast, Dame Christine Cole Catley shares stories of dancing with ‘Jimmy’ (J.K.) Baxter on crushed grass in summer, starting her own publishing house and keeping her PEN (later NZSA) membership active for over half a century.

Known for her commitment to writing and publishing in New Zealand, Dame Christine Cole Catley was also deeply supportive of writers through teaching and encouragement. This interview from 1999 is a rare opportunity to hear her stories and experiences in her own voice.

You can listen to the NZSA Oral History Podcast, hosted by Karyn Hay, on our website, Soundcloud, Stitcher, iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

What to know more about the NZSA Oral History Podcast series? Read the NZ Herald article about the series on our website.

For more about the project’s history and a glimpse of some of the writers coming up next year listen to Tessa Duder and Deborah Shepard’s interview on Standing Room Only. (Deborah’s book The Writing Life came out of interviews she originally did for the NZSA Oral History project).