Charles Brasch, 1909–1973

Abstract

Charles Orwell Brasch was the editor of New Zealand’s most influential literary magazine, Landfall, from its establishment in 1947 until his retirement from the role in 1966. Despite some poor patches, Landfall has continued as the country’s premier literary magazine, publishing critical and creative work of a consistently high standard. Brasch is today best remembered as a literary editor and less as a poet, despite his work continuing to be anthologised. Following his death in 1973 his estate endowed the Robert Burns literary fellowship, the Francis Hodgkins visual arts fellowship, and the Mozart music fellowship at Dunedin’s University of Otago. His extensive collection of books and art works were largely donated to the University, and his papers, recently released from a thirty-year embargo, are proving a rich source for literary historians and biographers.