It took me precisely two sessions to break my new strictly fiction rule, but this guy was worth it. Martin Edmond has always had a fresh approach to the art of biography, an approach I particularly enjoy. He’s been a Montana Book Awards nominee (for The resurrection of Philip Clairmont) and winner (for Chronicle of the unsung).

Edmond is also an  interesting and thoughtful speaker about his work. The last time I saw him there was an air of almost painful honesty about his responses to questions, a far cry from some of the overly polished literary performers who give the impression that it’s all just a carefully scripted routine, if it’s Saturday this must be Auckland Writers and Readers.

Speaking with Peter Wells, himself a gifted memoirist whose Long loop home links him with Napier so strongly in my mind I thought of him during the relentless T.V. coverage of recent events in that city, Edmond had a dizzying number of new books to talk about.

Luca Antara: passages in search of Australia, started because Edmond wanted to write a another book  and didn’t know what it was. It’s a skilful blend of fiction and non-fiction, he loved writing it and it shows.

The supply party is a quest memoir about the ill-fated expedition of Burke and Wills. What does quest memoir mean? It means his publisher was on to him about a blurb.

Zone of the marvellous has the theme of what the Europeans were looking for when they set out for the great Southern land.

Next up is a book about Colin McCahon, or rather about the moment in 1984 when McCahon went missing for a couple of days in Sydney. McCahon got lost in the Sydney Botanical Gardens and was found in Centennial Park, and Edmond thought “I’ll find the 14 stations of the Cross, I’ll do that walk as often as I need to and I’ll spend the night in the park.” And he did all those things.

This thread of responding to artists has always run through Edmond’s writing, although he found the prospect of having to paint a picture terrifying as a small child. His first  published writings were art reviews, informed by his readings in art history at Wellington Public Library.

This session wins the award so far for most mention of libraries, not that I’m counting (much). In his early days as an aspiring writer Edmond didn’t actually do much writing, he just hung around in libraries and did ‘background reading’.

Edmond’s writing has a convincing and natural voice, so how does he prepare? Not by keeping a diary, but he does practice memory skills. All middle-aged people in the audience were instantly impressed and one at least resolved to ask him for some tips should the opportunity arise. Then she forgot to do it.