Interview: John Reynolds talks about In With Both Feet

John Reynolds is a New Zealand-born academic and freelance writer of screenplays, novels and musicals. He qualified as a teacher and spent a number of years teaching overseas in England, Saskatchewan Canada, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, and Australia. During that time, he travelled widely through Eastern Europe during the Cold War, South Africa under apartheid and throughout North America. He gained an MA from San Jose State University, California, with the support of a Creative New Zealand grant, and a PhD from the University of Auckland, undertaking an in-depth study of the life and works of pioneer New Zealand filmmaker John O’Shea. John talks to NZ Booklovers.

Tell us a little about In With Both Feet?

It’s my autobiography that includes my New Zealand boyhood and my decision, as a newly qualified teacher, to begin my overseas travel in 1964. My subsequent experiences included playing piano in London pubs, escaping arrest in communist East Berlin, attending the Easter Uprising commemoration in Ireland, confronting apartheid in South Africa, being threatened with a rifle on the Zambezi River, and hosting a weekly radio show in Canada. It also highlights the musicals I have co-written with local composers Gary Daverne and Shade Smith, the novels and screenplays I wrote, the radio shows I hosted, and the gaining of a PhD (in spite of the fact that I was a second year Fifth former at Takapuna Grammar).

The book highlights key experiences and contains reflections of the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, and provides amusing anecdotes that will inform and amuse a wide range of readers.

What inspired you to write this book?

My wife Bess and my son Shane, who both said, “You’ve had a very interesting life. You should write a book.” 

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

There was no deadline, so I spent some time selecting the areas that would have wide audience appeal. I then researched a number of the places which I visited and worked in to provide informative background material for the readers. Generally I would spend about two hours per day writing and revising, discussing the results with Bess and with members of the Mairangi Writers, who meet fortnightly. I always listened to their critical comments, at times seeking further clarification, but working on the principle that if I have to verbally explain what I’ve written then obviously it needs to be re-written.

I also decided to include photographs to expand the narrative. I enjoyed reviewing and selecting the ones that would be included from the many that I had taken. They include me dressed in my doctoral robes shaking hands with PM Helen Clark, photographs I took of Princess Diana on her NZ visit, the protestors and police at 1981 Springbok rugby tour, and shots from my films and musicals.

If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.

‘Light A Candle in the Darkness’, a song I co-wrote with Shade Smith. Great melody and lyrics. It’s primarily a song of hope and optimism.

What did you enjoy the most about writing In With Both Feet?

Revisiting and reliving my past experiences and reflecting on how they had enriched my life and the lives of people with whom I’ve come into contact, and what I had gained from my experiences. It’s been quite a journey.

Do you have a favourite chapter from the book? Why is this your favourite?

‘The Greasy Limpopo’, which describes my time spent teaching school in Rhodesia. Every day was a new experience in this country, where I met people from a range of racial backgrounds, attended a passing-out parade of black Rhodesian troops, presented two of my films on Rhodesian television, spent time in the game parks, and engaged in challenging conversations about Rhodesia and its future. Africa is a fascinating continent! Unfortunately, Rhodesia has been replaced by Zimbabwe, which has endured a series of brutal regimes that have run this once-prosperous country into the ground.

What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?

Organised a book launch and sent out invitations to friends, acquaintances, and local business people where I read extracts, answered questions and autographed copies of my book.

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

Three novels by Colin Falconer, including Ends of the Earth, Ambush Tigers and Fever Coast. The novels are full of adventure and plot twists, incorporating personal and military conflict. The research is impressive, providing each novel with authenticity and credibility.

What’s next on the agenda for you?

The completion of my next novel After You’ve Gone, the story of Margaret Bromley, young Kiwi woman who becomes an ambulance driver on the western front in WWI where she falls in love with a blind officer who has lost his memory. However, another ambulance driver, who is also in love with the officer, arranges for him to be transported back to England while Margaret is at the front. Margaret returns to the hospital and is devastated to find he’s gone. Who can she turn to?