A Q & A with Jeffrey Paparoa Holman

Family researchers, historians, readers of lyrical, thoughtful books - this one is for you.

Join us for a chat with Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, acclaimed poet, historian and memoirist, around and about his beautiful, fascinating book, Lily, Oh Lily: Searching for a Nazi Ghost.

What if the dead – our dead – never feel to us that they have gone? If family stories, fragments of their lives, continue to nag and haunt us?

Lily Hasenburg was just such a figure in Holman’s growing years. She was whispered into his ear by grandmother Eunice – in memorable stories of her older sister, who married and moved to Germany at the turn of the 20th century, and was later caught up in the Nazi web spun by Adolf Hitler. Unable to shake loose this story, Holman pursued her to Berlin, Hamburg and Dresden. Here, we have an account of his pilgrimage; the kind of family history we might bury, and forget – to our loss.

‘Holman travels, learns German, encounters the lost who were always right there … Lily, Oh Lily is family memoir at full stretch, made with love, yearning and just a hint of reproach. A wise, timely, beautiful read.’ —Diana Wichtel

‘Lily, Oh Lily is a thriller, a search for a particular person caught in the events of Nazi Germany – not a whodunnit, but a where-is-she?’ —Patrick Evans

Jeffrey Paparoa Holman is an acclaimed poet, historian and memoirist. His poetry has been shortlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards; his family memoir The Lost Pilot (Penguin, 2013) was warmly received in Aotearoa and overseas. Best of Both Worlds: The story of Elsdon Best and Tutakangahau (Penguin, 2010) was short-listed for the Ernest Scott Prize (History) in Australia. Since retirement from his role as senior adjunct fellow at the University of Canterbury, he has taught creative writing in both primary and high school programmes.