NATIVE WIT
Hamish Keith
Random House, pbk, $45
Review by Geoff Adams
Irrepressible spirit and intelligence are the ingredients of art commentator Hamish Keith's chatty, very readable autobiography Native Wit with a bold cover portrait by Dick Frizzell.
Keith (whom I recall first meeting at amazing art student parties at Canterbury University) went on to become a confrere of Colin McCahon at the Auckland Art Gallery, later its director, chairman of the QE2 Arts Council and various other bodies, unsuccessful political candidate, writer, columnist and TV personality - last year's television series The Big Picture showing his well-honed talents to great advantage.
Hamish has led an incredibly varied and busy life in the past 71 years. Some experiences were funny and some sad. But he kept moving on.
Never averse to an argument, he airs his own views on New Zealand and New Zealanders' cultural heritage and identity, spliced into this entertaining unveiling of some of his life's adventures.
It is an argument where he is likely to ease readers over to his side, while enjoying his tales.
Describing Armagh St flat days in Christchurch, Keith uses the word "poozled" a couple of times (this being, apparently, a peculiar student term in New Zealand for the stealing or "flogging" of items for flats).
He poozled the title of this book from a high school teacher's report that described him as "getting by on native wit".
It was a good snatch as Keith is gleefully reminiscent, naughty and very witty throughout chapters with such titles as "A Perfect Cultural Storm", "A Very Wellington Coup", and "I Behaved Wonderfully Badly".
Some of his early family history is a bit coloured by speculation to make it more interesting.
Later, there are no really astounding or tremendously shocking revelations, but the book does take us behind the scenes in some machinations of bureaucrats, politicians, art galleries, their committees and the Arts Council at work. (And how Keith has spent time looking over his shoulder for the American CIA.)
He does not hesitate to describe some of his amorous adventures ("A Taste for Fierce Women") although one partner is named only as "The Singer".
In romantic vein, he finally settled very happily with his second wife Ngila Dickson, the Oscar-winning costume designer.
Among asides are a talkative encounter with Shirley Temple, as an American ambassador, co-passenger on the "Good Ship Lollipop" (first class of a Pan Am 747).
In other serious sections is the observation that the New Zealand appetite for art is consistently underestimated: "There is a pathetic belief that the public can only be moved to attend exhibitions in large numbers by controversy, scandal or shonky advertising."
Consistently amusing but thought-provocative, the exuberant writer shows himself a rebel with a cause throughout his life.
The cause was promotion of good New Zealand art and the good life.
There are a lot of names so the lack of an index is a pity - not really excused by a business decision "not to have one and tell people you think they're in there somewhere". Yet native wit prevails and art is the winner.
Thanks Hamish!
- Geoff Adams is a former editor of the ODT.
