Paving a path for future writers

Kaituhi Rāwhiti Two: Weaving of Words

A true weaving of Tairāwhiti words has come together in the newly published anthology book Kaituhi Rāwhiti Two: A Weaving of Words.

It is the follow-up to the first Kaituhi Rāwhiti, which was published in 2020, a concept from Gillian Moon, an editor of both books.

“Publishing this book is a triumph and an uplifting experience for our writing and artistic community. It means a lot to us,” said Regina de Wolf-Ngarimu, one of the editors.

“We celebrate our diversity, interconnectedness and creativity while paving a path for our future writers to launch their waka.

“It was a celebration of East Coast writers, bringing the community together and publishing a piece of work.

“The kaupapa for this book was about encouraging local writers. We took a slightly different approach compared to other publishers. We helped nurture the writers, worked with them by proofing and editing,” she said.

There are 40 writers involved in the book from across Tairāwhiti.

They are Te Paea Maurirere, Janine Hamilton-Kells, Aaron Compton, Norman Maclean, Jessica Keast, Elise Smith, Barnz Crawford, Beverly Smith, Molly Pardoe, Arieal Sage, Chris McMaster, Roman Seaton, Gillian Moon, Aimee Milne, Charlie Holland, R de Wolf, Vicki Cosson, Susan Partington, Katrina Reedy, Tahui (Polly) Crawford, Kaz Denby, Benita H Kape, Lien Ruelens, Paddy Noble, Moana Hoogland, Taranga Kent, Suzanne Pinfold, Dorothy Fletcher, Victoria Stewart, Jashan Kaur, Dan Witters, Hannah Ruelens, Sarah Holliday Pocock, Claire Morgan, Cassiopeia Harrison, Holly Flyger, Daphne Poi Maxwell, Philomena McGann, Vanessa Ngarimu and W F Stubbs.

“It's a community effort. It represents who we are. It's gritting, it's honest, it's everything you could possibly wish to find in a book,” de Wolf-Ngarimu said.

The cover features weaving from kairaranga artist Michelle Hinekura Kerr, who is based at Hoea! Gallery, John Flatt of Lightseeker Photography who took the photo, and Ezra Whittaker Powely who did the cover's graphic design.

The editorial team was Moon, McMaster and de Wolf-Ngarimu. The book was proofread by Compton and Ieme de Wolf.

With this book are two reviews from two of Tairāwhiti's best-selling authors, Witi Ihimaera and Monty Soutar.

Kaituhi Rāwhiti Two is dedicated to Rodney Baker who passed in January. Mr Baker was a kaumātua of the Tai Tech Writing Group and was in the first Kaituhi Rāwhiti book.

Te Paea Maurirere, one of the rangatahi to be published, wrote a fiction story on Te Maro — a son of one of the local chiefs at the time of Captain Cook's arrival.

“His story is one of significance to local iwi and holds great importance to Te Tairāwhiti, and every Māori on the coast. I wrote it from the perspective of Te Maro and although it is fiction, I tried my best to put myself in his shoes — what he felt in the moment, how he looked, what he saw and thought,” Maurirere said.

This is her first time being published.

“I'm proud to say I'm 17 and chasing my dreams. I remember brushing my hand across the cover of the book for the first time, feeling the pages with my fingertips, reading the words that I have read many times before and realising that though we all share the covers of this book, this book is mine.

“Ko te ao kei te kapu o toku ringa, the world is in the cup of my hand.

“I feel grateful to those who put me forward for this kaupapa and made an effort to help me along the way,” Maurirere said.

“I think back to when I was a kid and how I would fill my head with stories, which hasn't changed much. It feels funny to be the name on the page instead of being the one reading it. But it's a good funny. I am worthy of my dreams and that is the best feeling ever.”

Taranga Kent, one of the first-time publishers in the book, said she feels proud to be sharing her work publicly for the first time.

“I began to write for my own enjoyment, with no intention of it ever being seen by anyone else,” she said.

“Joining the Tairāwhiti Writers' Hub and receiving positive feedback and support from others led me to consider getting published as a realistic possibility.

“I write on a range of topics, but the poems I submitted were about the experience of going to a tangi, homelessness, being heartbroken and the sounds of nature. The latter was my first attempt at writing in te reo, which I aim to do more of in the future.”

Charlie Holland (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Te Whānau a Kai, Ngāti Porou) lives in Tairāwhiti, is a teacher at Lytton High School and has always had an interest in writing. She is also a member of the Tairāwhiti Writers' Hub and New Zealand Society of Authors.

“Kaituhi Rāwhiti Two was largely driven by members of the Tairāwhiti Writers' Hub, so there was a lot of support and encouragement to submit a piece towards the anthology,” Ms Holland said.

She wrote a speculative fiction piece called Uta.

“I wrote this story at a time when there was a lot of local and national unrest. Aotearoa had just gone into another lockdown and the financial, health and housing struggles were increasing,” she said.

“While we were all experiencing the impacts of Covid, I was also learning Horouta stories through my te reo Māori course, and it made me think about what lengths people will go to for the betterment of others,” she said.

The New Zealand Society of Authors Central District Branch funded the book.

Kaituhi Rawhiti Two: Weaving of Words is available as a paperback and an ebook from Paper Plus, Muirs Bookshop, Ballance Street Bookshop and the Tairawhiti Museum. Online orders can be made from Amazon, Barns & Noble and Book Depository.