Episode 6 - Tossing it with Martin Crump

"We’ve got a lot yet to tell, and see, and watch and listen to in this country. There’s such a lot more to tell."

Martin Crump is a writer, broadcaster and MC, and (among many other things) one of Barry’s Boys. His feature book, In Search of the Great Kiwi Yarn (2007), is a collection of thematically linked Kiwi stories that he claims he never even knew he could write, least of all deliver. But with his literary lineage it was a shoo-in, and there were plenty of other projects that followed. 
Martin has been instrumental in the publication of his father’s series for children, Professor Pingwit and the Pungapeople (2009), the origin of which was a white lie about some red shoes being stolen from a driveway.

He's no stranger to speaking about his father; it really does seem impossible to discuss Marty’s literary career without making mention of the notorious Barry Crump. Indeed it seems that Barry’s way of developing stories from skerricks of real life, making magic out of the mundane, and flying away on imaginary tangents, was the exact formula to continue the legacy of publishing within the family. Whether it’s a duckling emerging from a hot water cupboard, or a trip to the zoo, Martin finds the unusual and exciting to bring life to, for adults and children.
Self confessedly growing up in the ‘Communist Headquarters’ in New Lynn with his mother and brothers, he’s had educated and eccentric people around him his whole life, something that no doubt informs his prolific ability to keep writing and forging new pathways for the family’s archive of work.

He’s well keen on audiobooks, having narrated most of his fathers’ titles for AudiobooksNZ - even though he can’t stand hearing his own voice. That may be the case, but the rest of the nation grew a strong affinity with him as a ‘voice in the night,’ as he provided a kind of kinship for those operating, working, or just being up in the wee small hours. The same audience his father seemed drawn to, with The Overnight People and The Bush Telegraph being publications to cater for people who were late nighters. Coupled with the dulcet timbre required of the host, it’s no surprise that Newstalk ZB placed him in the role, nor that he worked as a host for Radio Pacific and Radio Live as well.

He believes it’s important to record and capture stories before they’re lost. His other advice for upcoming writers is; 

• To write what you know
• Get something you can draw on that has some truth of something in it to start you off
• Use bullet points
• Write what you’d like to hear and listen to

We wish him all the best with the pipelined Puha Rd film, set to follow up the Wild Pork and Watercress cinema adaptation; ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ directed by Taika Waititi.
 
Crump is available to visit schools as part of the Writers in Schools Programme. For this, all other enquiries, and to stay up to date with the family, you can contact them via barrycrump.com.

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