CRANNA, John 1954-

PERSONAL: Born 1954.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Heinemann Reed, 39 Rawene Rd., Birkenhead, Auckland, New Zealand.

CAREER: Author.

AWARDS, HONORS: Commonwealth First Book Award and New Zealand Book Award, both 1990, both for Visitors.

WRITINGS:

Visitors (short stories), Heinemann Reed (Aukland, New Zealand), 1989.

Arena, Minerva (Aukland, New Zealand), 1992.

Contributor to The Oxford Book of New Zealand Short Stories, edited by Vincent O'Sullivan, Oxford University Press, 1993.

SIDELIGHTS: New Zealand author John Cranna received acclaim and awards for his first collection of short stories, Visitors. Although the eight stories in this collection are told in a realistic style and most often take place in the present, two of them are fantasies and one is a science-fiction tale. These works feature characters—mostly from the middle class and mix of white, Maori, and Polynesian—who are loners and try by various means to make sense of their world and lives. The themes include such subjects as the relationship between past and present, the struggle between man and nature, and the complexities of human sexuality. In a World Literature Today review, Bernard Gadd noted, "The style is one of clarity and ease of reading, with a care for telling details." Gadd added that Cranna's "great skill is in drawing the reader gently and persuasively into the odd worlds of his characters and in handling the process of time."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Gaurdian (Manchester, England), August 10, 1993, Michael Hulse, review of The Oxford Book of New Zealand Short Stories.

Times Literary Supplement, February 2, 1990, Freddie Baveystock, "Lost Worlds and Travellers' Tales," p. 122.

World Literature Today, winter, 1991, Bernard Gadd, review of Visitors, p. 191.*