Photo credit Lisa Gardiner
One of my favourite things in the world is experiencing new cultures, and this trip will mean not only encountering the vibrant urban centre of Taipei, but also the unique cultures of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. I am grateful for the opportunity presented by the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan, Te Puni Kōkiri and PANZ to take part in this cultural exchange. Me Rongo!
Tina Makereti is a novelist, essayist and author of short stories. Her first novel, Where the Rēkohu Bone Sings (Vintage, 2014) has been described as a New Zealand classic and ‘a remarkable first [book that] spans generations of Moriori, Māori and Pākehā descendants as they grapple with a legacy of pacifism, violent domination and cross-cultural dilemmas.’ It recently won the 2014 Ngā Kupu Ora Aotearoa Māori Book Award for Fiction. Her short story collection, Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa (Huia Publishers 2010), which combines mythological and contemporary stories, also won the Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Award for Fiction in 2011. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize for Creative Science Writing (non-fiction), and in the same year received the Pikihuia Award for Best Short Story Written in English. Makereti is Curator Māori for Museums Wellington and convenes a Māori & Pasifika Creative Writing Workshop at Victoria University. She is of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Pākehā and Moriori descent. www.tinamakereti.com
