When I was a child, my mother worried that I didn’t get out and spend enough time with friends, but who needs friends when you have books? I’m joking! I’m joking. I have many wonderful friends. But I also have many wonderful books. I spent a lot of my childhood embedded in pages. Mum didn’t […]
‘Because the early Māori had no written language all we have to go on is oral tradition.’ This is a quote from a book – it doesn’t really matter which one because we’ve all heard it a million times. The idea that Māori aren’t literary because our language was never written down is something […]
There are two kinds of people: people who stay and people who leave. I’m not judging people who stay. Someone needs to keep the home fires burning. Close ties and family must come before travel for many. I am grateful that my brother has been here to keep connections to whānau alive. On my […]
You know how I was saying that one day I might be able to introduce myself like this, ‘Hi, I’m Hone Rata. I’m an author’? The last month has shown me that while I might be able to say that, I can’t follow it up with ‘And I’m kinda good at it.’ Because if I […]
It’s midnight on Saturday. I am ecstatic, my cheeks red with exhaustion and exhilaration at the same time. No, I am not clubbing or at a party with friends. Here I am, sitting alone at the wooden dining room table, my heart pumping in my chest. I’ve decided that being a writer is isolating. It’s […]
