Montague Harry "Monte" Holcroft (14 May 1902 – 24 September 1993) was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. His 18½ years editing the

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

"confirmed the ''Listener'' as a unique institution at the centre of New Zealand's cultural life".

Early life and family

Holcroft was the second of three sons, born in

Rangiora Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...

on 14 May 1902 to Harry Cooper Holcroft and Harriet Emily Soanes. He was married three times and had three children, Allan Holcroft (deceased) from his first marriage and is survived by two children from his second marriage, Anthony Holcroft and Jocelyn Rimmington.

Life

In 1936, Holcroft began writing for the ''Southland Times'' and became its editor. In 1949, Holcroft was offered the editorship of the ''

'' in Wellington. He took up the appointment in June 1949. He became the longest-serving editor of the ''

''. He helped found the New Zealand branch of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Honours and awards

In 1947, Holcroft received the Hubert Church Award. In the

1970 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1970 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...

, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to journalism.

Works

Novels

*''Beyond the Breakers'', John Long, 1928 *''The Flameless Fire'', John Long, 1931 *''Brazilian Daughter'' John Long, 1931

Essays

* * * * *''The Deepening Stream: Cultural Influences in New Zealand'' (1940)

Memoir

* *

History

Anthology

*''Discovered Isles: a Trilogy : The Deepening Stream, The Waiting Hills, Encircling Seas.'' Christchurch: Caxton Press, 1950. Voyager link *''Timeless World : a Collection of Essays'', Wellington: Progressive Publishing Society, 1945. Voyager link NZ Listener 323.13 Aug (1945): 12-13.

References

External links

"M.H. Holcroft", ''Literary Encyclopedia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holcroft, M. H. New Zealand essayists Male essayists 1902 births 1993 deaths People from Rangiora People from Paekākāriki New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century essayists