Steve Braunias has named Jan Kemp’s memoir Raiment among his best non-fiction titles from 2022. He says:
‘Another memoir, small but perfectly formed, of the 1960s and 70s, as lived and observed by a poet at the centre of things. From a review by Cathie Dunsford: “It's a memoir cut with tales of the damp dark days of university flatting, trials with sex and drugs and rock'n'roll… The New Zealand that Kemp describes in Raiment is vividly brought to life in all its blandness, sameness, sense of security, but biting at the edges is the beginning of a change in attitudes, a new sense of a sexual revolution. The second wave of feminism was still in its infancy but starting to be heard. It was radical for a female poet to be touring with male poets and for her to claim her place on the stage as an equal. Kemp admits she was no feminist warrior. But she was also determined to act on the same stage as the male poets and be respected as a writer. That helped pave the way for many others to follow.”’
See the full list here.
