Meet Paul Diamond: judge

Shortly after The Book Council appointed Paul Diamond to their board in 2010, they asked him their five easy questions so they could get to know him better.

Paul was announced as a judge for this year's New Zealand Post Book Awards on Thursday, 27 January 2011, and the Booksellers team thought readers might enjoy learning more about Paul too.

What books do you have lined up to read at the moment?
I’ve been enjoying 40 A Doonesbury Retrospective, a behemoth of a book: 695 pages, weighing in at 10½ kg. Since Doonesbury first appeared in 1970, there have been more than 14,000 published strips.  This book includes just 13 per cent of them, together with new essays by Garry Trudeau about the strip and Mike Doonesbury et al. AND a fold-out wiring diagram showing how the various characters are connected. Bliss for a Doonesbury junkie.

What is the strangest or most puzzling book you can remember reading?
I’m writing a book about Charles Mackay, who was mayor of Whanganui for nearly 13 years, until 1920 when he shot the writer D’Arcy Cresswell, who was blackmailing the (secretly homosexual) mayor. After six years in prison, Mackay left New Zealand for Europe, where he worked as a journalist and English-language teacher. In 1929 he was fatally shot by a German policeman while covering a riot in Berlin for a British newspaper.

While in prison, Mackay read The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, the first of three volumes of the Divina Commedia, a work I’ve often heard about but never tackled. The Wellington City Library has an 1893 edition of the English translation Mackay read, with haunting illustrations by Gustave Doré.  It’s unlike anything I’ve ever come across, and I’m beginning to see why it has enthralled readers for so long.

Do you always finish a book even if you're not engaged by it?
Generally, yes. I have the same policy for films, plays and concerts. It’s reminiscent of something the late Barry Barclay wrote about hui: ‘The crucial thing about hui is that you should be present. You should be present right through. That way you will have truly been part of the age-old community process that makes hui such a powerful instrument.’

Do you like to read and/or listen to poems and stories? Do any memorable performances or readings come to mind?
Yes, it’s a different experience to hear a poem or story read. Poetry features strongly in Laurie Anderson’s work. One of her albums, The Ugly One with the Jewels, is spoken word, and I saw the 2000 show Songs and Stories From Moby Dick – inspired by Melville’s epic novel. Over summer I’ve been enjoying her latest album, Homeland, a meditation on America; as she puts it, ‘A whole new place just waiting to happen’.

What is it about reading that keeps you reading?
I enjoy the various elements that make up a compelling story, including a thoughtful structure and strong, lucid writing.  It’s also exciting when book design helps drive the narrative.

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Paul Diamond (Ngati Haua, Te Rarawa, and Ngāpuhi) is a writer, journalist, historian and broadcaster. During his career he has produced radio features on Māori topics for National Radio, and worked as a senior reporter for Māori Television's current affairs show, Te Hēteri. His Radio programmes have won Qantas Media and Media Peace Awards. His books include A Fire in Your Belly, a collection of interviews with Māori leaders, and Makereti: Talking Māori to the World.