This weekend’s Garden Party festival in Wellington sees the premiere of Navigating the Stars, a live performance for families based on Witi Ihimaera’s acclaimed collection of the same name. Ahead of the show, Ihimaera spoke to his friend and former collaborator Whiti Hereaka about bringing the stories to the stage. Witi Ihimaera describes himself as … Read more
Summer reissue: poet essa may ranapiri says this review is one of the hardest things they’ve written. First published 10 February 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about how you can support us from as … Read more
An extract from Witi Ihimaera’s new book Navigating the Stars: Māori creation myths. This is an abridged passage of a deeply empathetic section analysing the life story of Hine-nui-te-pō, who crushed Māui to death with her vulva. At the end of the book, Ihimaera argues that Hine-nui-te-pō should be instated to her “rightful place among … Read more
Take a vicarious roadie via Attraction, the novel by Ruby Porter that was longlisted for the country’s biggest fiction prize. Released last year, it’s now a slightly eerie snapshot of Aotearoa as we were. Attraction is a New Zealand road trip novel with a heavy dose of postcolonial guilt. Whitewashing, cultural amnesia, reckoning with intergenerational … Read more
Poet essa may ranapiri says this review is one of the hardest things they’ve written. I spend two months with this book, following Witi Ihimaera’s journey, I see car tyres in country roads I see tears on lover’s faces, I feel the beating of the heart, as it strains against the western paradigm of heteronormativity. … Read more
An initiative launched on Wednesday will translate 100 popular fiction books into te reo Māori, and it’s kicking off with the first of the most popular book series of all time. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone currently exists in 80 languages. The only book more widely translated is the Bible, but JK Rowling’s bestselling … Read more
Sam Brooks reports on his time at the first weekend of the inaugural Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, which coincided with the launch of Tuia 250. Friday – The Festival Opening There are three things you expect at an arts festival opening. You expect free wine, you expect speeches, and you expect some kind of performance. … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Native Son: The Writer’s Memoir by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin Random House, $40) Stand by for a review from Essa Ranapiri! … Read more