Ronald Allison Kells Mason (10 January 1905 – 13 July 1971) 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 ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. Described by

Allen Curnow Thomas Allen Monro Curnow (17 June 1911 – 23 September 2001) was a New Zealand poet and journalist. Life Curnow was born in Timaru, New Zealand, the son of a fourth generation New Zealander, an Anglican clergyman, and he grew up in a relig ...

as New Zealand's "first wholly original, unmistakably gifted poet", he was born in Penrose,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 10 January 1905. He was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

, where he met fellow poet A. R. D. Fairburn. Mason was the holder of the

Robert Burns Fellowship The Robert Burns Fellowship is a New Zealand literary residency. Established in 1958 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations of the birth of Robert Burns, it is often claimed to be New Zealand's premier literary residency. The list of past ...

at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

in 1962. He died in

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, New Zealand, Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volca ...

, Auckland on 13 July 1971.

Works

Poetry

*''The Beggar'' (Whitcombe & Tombs, 1924) *''Penny Broadsheet'' (Whitcombe & Tombs, 1924) *''No New Thing'' (Spearhead Publishers, 1934) *''End of Day'' (Caxton Press, 1936) *''This Dark Will Lighten'' (Caxton Press, 1941) *''China Dances and Other Poems'' (John McIndoe, 1962) *''Collected Poems'' (Pegasus Press, 1962)

Radio Play

*''Squire Speaks'' (Caxton Press, 1938)

Prose

*''Frontier Forsaken: An Outline History of the Cook Islands'' (Challenge, 1947) *''Four Short Stories 1931–1935'' (Holloway Press, 2003)

Music

* ''The Young Man Thinks of Sons'' by NZ group Ferocious (

Bill Direen Bill (also William) Direen is a musician and poet. He manages the music group Bilders and lives in Otago, New Zealand. Direen has appeared at Book Festivals in New Zealand, the USA and Eastern Europe, but is better known for his music and son ...

, Johannes Contag and Mark S. Williams) (

Rattle Records Rattle Records, established in 1991, is a contemporary art-music label based in Auckland, New Zealand. It releases compositions generally by New Zealand composers in contemporary art genres. It has been described as "the de facto home of New Zealan ...

, February 2020
Music video (2020).
* New Zealand composer

David Farquhar David Andross Farquhar (5 April 1928 – 8 May 2007) was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington. Biography Farquhar was born in Cambridge, New Zealand, in 1928 but spent most of his early years in F ...

(1928-2007) composed a setting of "On the Swag" for unaccompanied choir. The score can be obtained from SOUNZ. * ''On the Swag'' Christopher Marshall (1956-) for mixed choir, unaccompanied. For details see SOUNZ and the National Library of New Zealand. * ''On the Swag'' by Dunedin hymn writer Colin Gibson, sung by tenor soloist Edmund Hintz, on “Spirited People” by the Festival Singers of Wellington.

References

External links

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, R.A.K. 1905 births 1971 deaths People educated at Auckland Grammar School New Zealand male poets 20th-century New Zealand poets 20th-century New Zealand male writers