New Zealand

===Literature===
{{main|New Zealand literature}}
Māori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the written form.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nancy |last=Swarbrick |chapter=Creative life – Writing and publishing |title=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |date=June 2010 |chapter-url= http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/creative-life/6 |access-date=22 January 2011}}</ref> Most early English literature was obtained from Britain, and it was not until the 1950s when local publishing outlets increased that New Zealand literature started to become widely known.<ref>{{cite web |title=The making of New Zealand literature |url= http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/literature-in-new-zealand-1930-1960 |publisher=[[New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] |date=November 2010 |access-date=22 January 2011}}</ref> Although still largely influenced by global trends ([[Literary modernism|modernism]]) and events (the Great Depression), writers in the 1930s began to develop stories increasingly focused on their experiences in New Zealand. During this period, literature changed from a [[Journalism|journalistic]] activity to a more academic pursuit.<ref>{{cite web |title=New directions in the 1930s – New Zealand literature |url= http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/literature-1940-60/1930s |publisher=[[New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] |date=August 2008 |access-date=12 February 2011}}</ref> Participation in the world wars gave some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture and with the post-war expansion of universities local literature flourished.<ref>{{cite web |title=The war and beyond – New Zealand literature |url= http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/nz-literature/the-growth-of-publishing |publisher=[[New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] |date=November 2007 |access-date=12 February 2011}}</ref> Dunedin is a UNESCO [[City of Literature]].<ref>{{cite web |title=28 cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network |url= http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/28_cities_join_the_unesco_creative_cities_network/back/9597/#.VPojtC6RNiR |publisher=[[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]] |date=December 2014 |access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref>