Losing the plot
New Zealand Listener|June 25 - July 1, 2022
In this extract from her memoir, NZ poet and author KATE CAMP goes to Washington certain she will witness a historic presidential victory.
KATE CAMP
Losing the plot

Our bathroom had dark-blue wallpaper with birds and flowers on it, like the wallpaper in an English country house. The paintwork was putty-coloured, with a putty-coloured bath shelf that Dad had built for Mum. As well as room for Mum’s mug of Nescafé, it had a sloping holder with a lip to hold her book, or the latest issue of the Bulletin. Once I was having a bubble bath with a jar of hard-boiled sweets on the shelf, and Dad called me a little sybarite. In the bathroom cupboard was a wide-mouthed orange plastic jug. Its lip was shaped like an upper lip, with a cupid’s bow. This is the jug Mum would use to wash our hair, and as I write that, I can see my sister’s fine, straight hair being washed with it, hanging down her back while I sit in the bath behind. I used to like to force the jug under the bath water, filled with air, then let the air out in huge, transparent bubbles.

This story is from the June 25 - July 1, 2022 edition of New Zealand Listener.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the June 25 - July 1, 2022 edition of New Zealand Listener.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW ZEALAND LISTENERView All
The big dry
New Zealand Listener

The big dry

All we know is that here at Lush Places, our pasture and gardens are gasping. The pasture is the worry. The garden is a luxury but if you move to the country to buy a garden, the lack of rain is distressing.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
Digital disruption or disaster?
New Zealand Listener

Digital disruption or disaster?

If the news media is left to sink or swim, who will hold the powerful to account?

time-read
2 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
Fair's fair
New Zealand Listener

Fair's fair

Are we kidding ourselves that the world is a fair and just place?

time-read
2 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
Fortify yourself
New Zealand Listener

Fortify yourself

Iodine is an essential mineral for our metabolism but opt for bread and milk rather than salt to get an adequate dose.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
Flautist’s flight
New Zealand Listener

Flautist’s flight

A United Nations of styles mark Tessa Brinckman’s collection of flute pieces.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
Characters with a back story
New Zealand Listener

Characters with a back story

A new local comedy drama set in a spinal unit is based on the lives of two of its writers, one of whom stars in the show.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
On the slopes of whakapapa
New Zealand Listener

On the slopes of whakapapa

Kids go bush in Taranaki in a family flick with some familiar touches.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
Southern belles
New Zealand Listener

Southern belles

Kaylee Bell embraces Nashville, while Amiria Grenell heads to Americana.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
Flying colours
New Zealand Listener

Flying colours

Look Blue Go Purple, a group which stood out among the many in 1980s Dunedin, is being honoured at the Taite Music Prize. RUSSELL BROWN tracked down the op shop-raiding politest band in rock'n'roll”.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024
Critters for life's jitters
New Zealand Listener

Critters for life's jitters

A talking fox offers solace to a struggling man in this moving story about the redemptive power of nature.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 30 - April 5, 2024