Looking forward to meeting and interacting with tangata whenua (host people of the land) and listening to some of their stories plus the experience of absorbing some of the culture, the colour and the many languages that make up Taipei.
Peti, a native speaker of Māori, grew up in Ruātoki, New Zealand. A tiny mist shrouded valley where her imagination ran riot and was encouraged by her aunties, countless kuia (older female members of her tribe) and especially her mum to be creative with words. She was privy to the heartrending accounts, the sometimes open, dark, macabre humour, and the gossip that only women can weave. And so, a rich idiomatic foundation was laid which is an important feature of her writings. Peti’s books target Māori speakers, and recently second language learners of Māori in educational settings.
Peti’s writing has been recognised nationally as being outstanding. In 2009 her book Mihiroa, won the Te Kura Pounamu Award for Māori fiction ‘considered to be the most distinguished contribution to literature for children and young adults written in Te Reo Māori[1]’. Peti also wrote the first Māori language trilogy for young adults, Taku Ohooho which is a fiction fantasy set in an alternate dimension pitting good against evil.
[1] Library and Information Association of New Zealand (2010). www.lianza.org.nz
