To top this off, Blood and Dirt has been featured on a number of best books of 2023 lists. The only New Zealand history book to make the list and one of the few New Zealand nonfiction titles, The New Zealand Listener wrote:
"Lively account of how crime and punishment, capital and labour, came together, in this reappraisal of incarceration since colonial settlement, prisoners’ efforts – streets, breakwalls, defence fortifications – hiding in plain sight."On The Spinoff, Claire Mabey and Kiran Dass wrote:
Before this book I had never considered, or heard of, prison labour contributing to the built environment of Aotearoa New Zealand. This book is an essential history that will make you look with fresh eyes at the colonial project and the inequities of the justice system. / Claire Mabey
This book hits all the sweet spots for me – Aotearoa social history with a strong narrative drive. This is an important book about labour, capitalism, colonisation, and the crucial role that prisoners played in public infrastructure, with the idea that history should be challenging while leading to radical social change. Blood and Dirt is an exemplary example of what beautiful and intelligent publishing can look like in Aotearoa. / Kiran Dass, WORD Christchurch
The Sunday Star Times included Blood and Dirt alongside three other best local titles, noting:
With the incoming coalition government promising to crack down on crime, there’s no better time to acquaint yourself with New Zealand’s punitive system – measured in the very infrastructure laid by prisoners over the decades. As Jared Davidson writes, forced labour is evident in the country’s streets and urban spaces, from the Bay of Islands, to Milford Sound, to our biggest cities. Davidson told the Start-Times in September, “I think it will change the way we think about New Zealand and the places we take for granted today.”
And across the Tasman, the Australia Institute included Blood and Dirt on their 2023 Essential Reading List.
I was lucky enough to share my own best reads of 2023 with The Spinoff, including Audition by Pip Adam and The Financial Colonisation of Aotearoa by Catherine Comyn. Two others that could have easily made the list were The Words For Her by Thomasin Sleigh and Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History by Ryan Bodman.
Speaking of Pip Adam, a highlight of my literary year was being able to share a stage (and kōrero) with Pip as part of VERB Wellington. Pip recorded the session for her Better Off Read Podcast. Have a listen and support her work here: https://betteroffread.substack.com/p/ep-133-jared-davidson-blood-and-dirt
There's some more talks and events to come in 2024, including the Auckland Writers Festival - details can be found on my website: www.jared-davidson.com.
