Sargeson, Frank (1903-1982), was the pen name of Norris Frank Davey, one of the most famous figures in New Zealand literature during the mid-1900’s. Sargeson gained fame for his short stories collected in Conversation with My Uncle and Other Sketches (1936), A Man and His Wife (1940), and That Summer and Other Stories (1946). He wrote much of his short fiction as monologues delivered by outcasts and misfits, using everyday language. His later fiction shifted from lower-class characters who had difficulty putting their thoughts and feelings into words to middle-class characters who were much more fluent with language. But like the figures in his earlier fiction, these characters were often isolated and alienated.
Sargeson’s novels include I Saw in My Dream (1949), Memoirs of a Peon (1965), The Hangover (1967), Joy of the Worm (1969), Sunset Village (1976), and En Route (1979). He also wrote three autobiographical works, One Is Enough (1973), More Than Enough (1975), and Never Enough! (1977). A selection of his criticism was published after his death in Conversations in a Train (1983). Sargeson also wrote plays.
Sargeson was born on March 23, 1903, in Hamilton, on the North Island. He qualified as a lawyer in 1926, but never practiced, choosing to become a full-time writer. He died on March 1, 1982.
