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Peter Simpson (writer)

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NZ academic, writer and politician (born 1942)

Peter Simpson
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Lyttelton
In office
15 August 1987 – 27 October 1990
Preceded byAnn Hercus
Succeeded byGail McIntosh
Personal details
Born1942
Tākaka, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
Children2
ProfessionLecturer

Peter Alan Simpson (born 1942) is an academic, writer, literary critic, and former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life

Simpson was born in Tākaka in 1942. From 1955 to 1959, he was educated at Nelson College, where he was a prefect and member of the school's 1st XV rugby union team in his final year. He gained a MA (Hons) from the University of Canterbury, and a PhD from the University of Toronto with a 1975 thesis titled 'Wordsworth to Hardy: lines of relationship and continuity in nineteenth century English poetry' .

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1987–1990 42nd Lyttelton Labour

He represented the electorate of Lyttelton in Parliament from 1987 to 1990, when he was defeated by Gail McIntosh, one of a number of losses contributing to the fall of the Fourth Labour Government.

Before entering parliament he was chairman of the Lyttelton electorate committee of the Labour Party.

Professional life

Simpson had been teaching English since the 1960s at various universities. He was at Massey University, University of Toronto and Carleton University. In his last teaching role, he was at the University of Auckland as associate professor in the Department of English, and head of English, roles from which he retired in 2008.

He is the director of Holloway Press, set up at the University of Auckland in 1994 and named after Ron Holloway (1909–2003), a renowned university printer and publisher.

Simpson received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in 2017.

In 2020, Simpson was conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Canterbury.

Selected works

  • Ronald Hugh Morrieson (Oxford University Press, 1982)
  • Candles in a Dark Room: James K. Baxter and Colin McCahon (Auckland Art Gallery, 1996)
  • Colin McCahon: The Titirangi Years, 1953–1959 (Auckland University Press, 2007)
  • Fantastica: The World of Leo Bensemann (Auckland University Press, 2011)
  • Bloomsbury South: The Arts in Christchurch 1933–1953 (Auckland University Press, 2016)
  • Colin McCahon: There is Only One Direction, Vol. I 1919–1959 (Auckland University Press, 2019)
  • Colin McCahon: Is this the Promised Land? Vol. 2 1960–1987 (Auckland University Press, 2020)
  • Dear Colin, Dear Ron: The selected letters of Colin McCahon and Ron O'Reilly (Te Papa Press, 2024)

Private life

Simpson lives in Auckland. He is married with two children.

References

  1. ^ "Peter Simpson at the NZ Book Council". Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  2. "Full school list of Nelson College, 1856–2005". Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006 (CD-ROM) (6th ed.). 2006.
  3. "University of Toronto Libraries".
  4. "Lyttelton candidate sees a hard campaign ahead". The Press. 29 May 1987. p. 2.
  5. "Peter Simpson staff page". Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  6. "Peter Simpson 1942 – (Person)". Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  7. "Peter Simpson". Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  8. "About the Press". Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  9. Simpson, Peter. "Ronald Holloway 1909 – 2003 – Obituary". Holloway Press. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  10. "Prime Minister's Awards for literary achievement". Creative NZ. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  11. "Leading publisher on NZ culture to receive UC honorary doctorate". University of Canterbury. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded byAnn Hercus Member of Parliament for Lyttelton
1987–1990 		Succeeded byGail McIntosh
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