Picking up where the first volume of his award-winning memoir left off, Native Son follows Witi Ihimaera from the age of 15, through his triumphs and failures at school and university, to experimenting sexually, searching for love, identity and purpose, and publishing his first books. In conversation with Sue Orr, Witi revisits a time when to simply be published as a Māori author was a landmark moment.
Witi Ihimaera is of Te Whānau a Kai, Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Tūhoe, Te Whānau ā Apanui and Ngāti Porou descent. He was the first Māori to publish a novel, Tangi, in 1973. He has subsequently gone on to become one of New Zealand’s leading writers. He is passionate about writing Māori stories and creating opportunities for them to be shown not only in print but also in theatre and on film. His memoir, Māori Boy, won the 2016 Ockham Award for the best non-fiction work. His play, All Our Sons, won six Wellington theatre awards and will be produced by the Auckland Theatre Company in 2018. He is currently writing the third volume of his memoir and working on other projects, including an opera, Flowing Water, which is set in the Waikato during the New Zealand Wars.
Sue Orr has published two short story collections, Etiquette for a Dinner Party and From Under the Overcoat, and a novel The Party Line. From Under the Overcoat was a finalist in the 2012 NZ Post Book Awards and won the People’s Choice Award. Sue has a PhD in Creative Writing from Victoria University, Wellington, and has taught creative writing at Massey University, Manukau Institute of Technology, in prisons and at Women’s Refuge. She lives in Wellington and is currently writing her fourth book.
Saturday and Sunday Sessions
8.30am - 5pm
Titirangi War Memorial Hall
Tickets:
Full Day Pass Includes 8 sessions $120.00 | $100 concession
Individual Sessions $18.00 | $15 concession
4 Session Pass | $60 | $50 concession
Tickets available from iTICKET*
A delicious lunch catered by Loaves and Fishes Online orders essential: by 1 September | $22
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