TINA MAKERETI | "The writing taught me what is fundamental to my identity. Diversity. Culture. History. A belief that our traditions and myths still offer us a way of understanding our contemporary challenges. That some of my characters are obviously Maori and some obviously indefinable is important. And there are things that are not pretty to look at, but hopefully when we do look at them we can do so with humour and an ear for the wisdom that is still available to us." |
In 2011, Tina Makereti won the inaugural fiction award at Nga Kupu Ora 2011 - the third Maori Book Awards - for Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa. Tina Makereti was writer in residence at the Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt in 2012.
Tina Makereti talks about her work and the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Of Ngati Tuwharetoa, Te Ati Awa, Ngati Maniapoto, Moriori and Pakeha descent, Tina was born in Kawakawa, lived in several parts of the North Island, and attended university and worked in Palmerston North. She earned a BA Social Sciences in 1994 and PGDip Maori Studies in 2007 from Massey University.
In 2008 she completed an MA in Creative Writing at Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters and in the following year, she won the Pikihuia Award for Best Short Story Written in English for Skin and Bones, the opening story in Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa. The collection brought traditional Maori myths and legends into a contemporary context and was listed in the New Zealand Listener's 100 Best Books and Sunday Star Times Best Books of 2010. Skin and Bones was a playful exploration of the Maori story of human creation.
In 2009, Tina also won the Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize for Creative Science Writing (non-fiction) for Twitch. Answering the theme for the 2009 competition: “the place of human beings in the universe,” Twitch compared Maori belief systems about the creation of the universe with scientific theories.
In addition to her own books, Tina’s writing has appeared in literary journals, magazines and anthologies including the Sport, The NZ Listener, Metro, Huia Short Stories 8, Hue and Cry, JAAM 27 and Turbine 08.
Tina was writer-in-residence at the Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt in 2012. She teaches creative writing and has submitted a PhD in Creative Writing to Victoria University International Institute of Modern Letters. She is working on a novel.
www.tinamakereti.com
"I lived in Palmerston North on and off for many years – the city always welcomed me back and gave me a place to live and work. Palmy and Massey nurtured my intellect and eventually nurtured my creativity too. It was a good place to begin studying and practising writing. I spent many days at the Palmerston North City Library working on the first draft of my first book."
