A little book containing so much- a novella, history, eyewitness reports, Maori translation, verse and images.
Witi Ihimaera (Author)
Witi Ihimaera was the first Maori to publish both a book of short
stories and a novel, and since then has published many notable
novels and collections of short stories. Described by Metro
magazine as 'Part oracle, part memoralist,' and 'an inspired voice,
weaving many stories together', Ihimaera has also written for stage
and screen, edited books on the arts and culture, as well as
published various works for children.
His best-known novel is The Whale Rider, which was made into a
hugely, internationally successful film in 2002. His novel Nights
in the Garden of Spain was also made into a feature film, and was
distributed internationally under the name of Kawa. The feature
film White Lies was based on his novella Medicine Woman. And his
novel Bulibasha, King of the Gypsies inspired the 2016 feature film
Mahana. His first book, Pounamu, Pounamu, has not been out of print
in the 40 years since publication.
He has also had careers in diplomacy, teaching, theatre, opera,
film and television. In 1993 Ihimaera spent a year in France on the
Katherine Mansfield Fellowship. He has received numerous awards,
including the Wattie Book of the Year Award and the Montana Book
Award, the inaugural Star of Oceania Award, University of Hawaii
2009, a laureate award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation 2009,
the Toi Maori Maui Tiketike Award 2011, and the Premio Ostana
International Award, presented to him in Italy 2010. In 2004 he
became a Distinguished Companion of the Order of New Zealand (the
equivalent of a knighthood).
Witi Ihimaera has said that he considers 'the world I'm in as being
Maori, not European' and that he writes from this perspective.
While much of his fiction is based on fact, it is not strictly
autobiographical but is an imaginative recreation of places, people
and circumstances. For a period of about 10 years, though, he
stopped publishing, feeling that his attempts to capture the
emotional landscape of Maori were being perceived as the
'definitive portrayal' of Maoridom. This was from the mid-1970s
when there was a resurgence of Maori activism.
Receiving the premiere Maori arts award Te Tohutiketike a Te Waka
Toi, Ihimaera said, 'To be given Maoridom's highest cultural award,
well, it's recognition of the iwi. Without them, I would have
nothing to write about and there would be no Ihimaera. So this
award is for all those ancestors who have made us all the people we
are. It is also for the generations to come, to show them that even
when you aren't looking, destiny has a job for you to do.'
Ihimaera is a respected commentator on Maori, Pacific and
indigenous peoples' affairs, and has been instrumental in ensuring
Maori art and literature is supported.
The Parihaka Woman, 'a fun dash through 19th-century New Zealand,
speckled with adventure' (Bay of Plenty Times), was the third
bestselling New Zealand fiction work in 2010. Recognised for its
'moments of tender beauty' (The New Zealand Herald) and for being
'richly imaginative and original . . . surprising, inventive and
deeply moving' it 'confirms Witi Ihimaera as one of New Zealand's
finest and most memorable storytellers' (Tararua District
Library).
With The Thrill of Falling, Ihimaera has taken a new route with his
writing, 'full of experimentation and literary derring-do' (John
McCrystal, Weekend Herald). The Saturday Express noted that he
writes with 'a great combination of the punchiness of a short
story, along with more development of character and plot . . .
creating characters that seem to come alive off the pages', the
Otago Daily Times reviewer noting that he weaves references to
Maori mythology and New Zealand into his stories in 'an easy,
playful and relaxed style, while pulling off twists and brilliant
touches'.
Hemi Kelly (Author)
Hemi Kelly is of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Tahu-Ngati Whaoa
descent. He started learning te reo Maori as a young teenager and
naturally progressed into teaching roles after study. Hemi is a
full-time lecturer in te reo Maori at the Auckland University of
Technology. His academic research and writing focus largely on the
revitalsation of the Maori language and translation studies.
Hemi is a licensed translator and graduate of Te Panekiretanga o Te
Reo (The Institute of Excellence in the Maori Language). In 2017,
Hemi translated Witi Ihimaera's novella in Sleeps Standing and
published his first book A Maori Word a Day in 2018. In 2019, Hemi
published his first creative writing piece in English in Purakau, a
collection of Maori myths retold by Maori writers.
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