Janet Frame in Focus: Women Analyze the Works of the New Zealand Writer

New Zealand author Janet Frame (1924-2004) during her lifetime published 11 novels, three collections of short stories, a volume of poetry and a children's book. Her posthumous publications include a novel, a novella, several short stories, a book of poetry, a number of nonfiction pieces and several volumes of letters. Yet she may be best known for An Angel at My Table (1990), a film based on her three-volume autobiography. The details of her life--her tragic early years, her confinement in a psychiatric hospital and her miraculous reprieve when her debut publication won a literary award just days before a scheduled lobotomy--overshadow her work and she remains largely neglected by scholars. Presented at the 2014 Northeast Modern Language Association convention, these essays focus on Frame's autobiography, short stories and novels. Contributors from around the world explore a range of topics, including her mother's Christadelphian faith, her relationships with two 20th century icons (artist William Theophilus Brown and scientist John Money), and a view of Frame in the context of trauma studies.