Owen Marshall – 1992

'Aldous Slaven hangs for an instant on the power line of his home...'. So begins Owen Marshall's first novel, A Many Coated Man, which he began while the Burns Fellow for 1992. Set in 21st century New Zealand, the novel – a departure from his usual short story writing – was published in 1995 and shortlisted for the Montana Book Award for Fiction. Marshall's strong sense of place and environment is evoked in his poem displayed in Diedre Copeland's painting, done recently for the Otago Hospice charity auction, 2008.

'South Island Prayer', copy of a painting by Deidre Copeland. 2008. Private Collection; Owen Marshall, A Many Coated Man. Dunedin: Longacre Press, 1995. Private Collection.