Today, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Janet Frame!

Posted: Wednesday Aug 28, 2024

Janet Paterson Frame was born on the 28th of August 1924 at St Helen's Hospital, cnr Queen and Regent Streets, Dunedin. She was delivered by Dr Emily Siedeberg, who was New Zealand's first female medical graduate in 1896 at the University of Otago. Dr Siedeberg is reported to have made the observation that "Baby Frame is hungry."

Janet's extraordinary talent and unique voice left an indelible mark on literature. Her work, filled with deep insights into the human condition, continues to inspire and resonate with readers around the world. Let's honour her legacy by revisiting her timeless novels, stories, and poems that challenged norms and redefined what it means to be a writer.

You can visit Dunedin City Library for two displays to celebrate Janet Frame’s legacy:

• Ground floor - a selection of poems in New Zealand poetry collections

• Heritage Collections on the 3rd floor - view some other treasures, including first editions and Janet Frame’s written application for a Dunedin Public Library borrowers’ card from 1954.