Inspiring other authors

I am constantly hearing that Janet Frame's writing has inspired other authors, motivated them to write and influenced their career and outlook, as well as having touched the lives of countless ordinary readers.

This debt of gratitude is obvious of course for New Zealand writers, as Fiona Kidman wrote in a public letter to Janet Frame in 1994:

"It is time to acknowledge the huge inspiration your life and works have provided for other New Zealand writers." (Published in The Inward Sun: Celebrating the Life and Work of Janet Frame, ed E. Alley, 1994.)

But Janet Frame has been an international writer ever since 1961 when after several years of living in Europe she first started publishing in the UK and Germany and the United States.

So over the years there have been many testimonials to Janet Frame from writers of many backgrounds and writing in many languages. Notably recently there was the recommendation by Etgar Keret to read Janet Frame.

And I noticed another current example today, showing up on a Google News alert, in which Italian author Maria Silvia Avanzato is one of several  contemporary Italian writers taking part in a series in which they pay tribute to a great author whose life and work has inspired them. For Maria Silvia Avanzato, this author is Janet Frame.