A literary celebration of Matariki will take place at Museum
of Wellington City and Sea’s Third
Thursday event on 18 June from 6.00pm to 8.30pm.
Kiwi
authors Patricia Grace, Chris Tse, Kate
Camp and John Summers will read
from their published works and discuss their stories, poetry and thoughts on
Matariki with award-winning writer and Museums Wellington Curator Māori, Tina Makereti.
“Matariki
is a time of reflection and acknowledgement, when we mourn those who have
passed away, farewell the year and plan for the year to come,” says Makereti. “It’s an opportunity to think about our
history, and understand how it guides us in our potential futures. This will
provide the starting point for what promises to be a lively discussion with
these great writers.”
Patricia Grace’s new book Chappy tells of a young Māori man sent home to New Zealand from a
privileged youth in Europe. Here, he learns of his family, and most importantly
of the love affair between his Māori Grandmother and deceased Japanese
Grandfather.
Chris Tse’s anthology How
To Be Dead In a Year of Snakes brings life to one of New Zealand’s
notorious hate crimes, when on a Sunday in 1905 Lionel Terry killed the Chinese
gold miner Joe Kum Yung on Haining Street, Wellington.
Snow White’s Coffin is a collection of
poetry by Kate Camp, a book that was finalist in the 2013 New Zealand Post Book
Awards. A skilled poet, Kate wrote Snow
White’s Coffin while on her Creative New Zealand Berlin residency.
John Summers
will be reading from his first book The
Mermaid Boy – an appealing book of true short stories telling of his
travels from Christchurch to China, spanning from the outlandish to the
ordinary, and of his friendship with “a boy who dressed as a woman who was also
a fish”.
After the
readings and discussion, the audience will have the opportunity to ask
questions, get books signed and create their own handmade booklet of readings
to take home.
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