Recent necrology, January 2010

Necrology – a list of notable people who have died recently. Now a regular feature on our blog.

Louis Auchincloss, 1917-2010
American novelist, historian, and essayist
Kage Baker, 1952-2010
American science fiction and fantasy writer
Miep Gies, 1909-2010
Dutch woman who helped hide Anne Frank’s family from the Nazis and found Anne Frank’s diary
William Lederer, 1912-2010
American author and naval career officer
Kate McGarrigle, 1944-2010
Singer-songwriter and head of a musical dynasty, who was treasured for her elegant and elegiac records
Robert B. Parker, 1932-2010
American crime writer whose most famous works are the Spenser series
Juliet Peter, 1915-2010
Born in Canterbury, Juliet Peter was one of a generation of gifted students who graduated from Canterbury College School of Art in the late 1930s
Roberts, John Storm, 1936-2009
Scholar who traced the links between different world music traditions and how they influenced each other
J.D. Salinger, 1919-2010
Legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose ‘The catcher in the rye’ shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned
Erich Segal, 1937-2010
Classics professor who wrote the tear-jerking smash hit Love Story
Jean Simmons, 1929-2010
British film star of the Forties who made a partly successful transition to Hollywood in the Fifties and Sixties
Ed Thigpen, 1930-2010
Drummer renowned for his subtlety and precision who made his name with the Oscar Peterson Trio
Doris Tutill, 1916-2010
Head of art at St Margaret’s College for 25 years, ordained Anglican priest in 1986
Earl Wild, 1915-2010
Piano virtuoso who ranged from Liszt to Gershwin and brought an electrifying style to the great concertos
Howard Zinn, 1922-2010
American historian, author, playwright and activist

Exploring cultures in Christchurch

Marina Lewycka of Two Caravans fame visits Christchurch this Friday 19 February as the first of several interesting authors who explore cultural and ethnic themes. Andrea Levy and Xinran are also coming over the next few weeks. Women on Air are hosting these writers.

The library has many other novels about the immigrant experience which you may enjoy.

Various other events in the city leading up to Race Relations Day on 21 March serve to promote multicultural awareness and celebrate the growing diversity in this city.

• Global Football Festival
• Lantern Festival
• Culture Galore

Christchurch also welcomes 8 new Bhutanese refugee families to the city and a new influx of international students to our high schools and universities. We are certainly off to an exciting year of ethnic experiences – all without leaving home.