OCTOBER 5
The Sargeson Swerve: A literary life on Esmonde Road.
‘That tiny fibrolite dwelling, set in the subsistence garden that Frank cultivated like a small farm, became a literary kingdom entirely without guards or frontiers and where the only cards of identity were books’.
-Under the Bridge & Over the Moon, Kevin Ireland-
Writer Frank Sargeson lived at 14 Esmonde Road, Takapuna from 1931 until his death in 1982. Here he created a literary oasis where writers lived, worked and partied. It has been said that this was where New Zealand literature was born. The little fibrolite bach located on Esmonde Road, once a quiet backwater, but now (from the 1950s onwards) a congested on-ramp for the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Using artefacts such as the quilt made for Sargeson by Janet Frame, paintings, sculpture, film, images and writing, this exhibition examines Sargeson’s influence on the development of New Zealand lit
erature as it played out against the backdrop of Esmonde Road and the ever expanding city of Auckland.
Even after Frank’s death the story continued. During later road construction, allowance had to be made for Frank’s ashes scattered in the front garden of the house. This was known to the traffic engineers as, ‘The Sargeson Swerve’.
This exhibition is part of Auckland Heritage Festival 2017 and officially opens on Thursday 5th October 2017, from 5:30pm – 7:00pm. The opening event will feature guest speakers and readers including: Elizabeth Aitken Rose, Chair of the Sargeson Trust, Poet C.K Stead and others yet to be announced.
The Sargeson Swerve is on display from Saturday September 30 – Thursday October 19 in the Vernacular Lounge, Depot Artspace.