Haare Williams: Words of a Kaumatua

(Hardback)

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Description

Haare Williams grew up with his Tuhoe grandparents on the shores of Ohiwa Harbour in a te reo world of Tane and Tangaroa, Te Kooti and the old testament, of Nani Wai and curried cockle stew - a world that Haare left behind when he learnt English at school and moved to Auckland. Over the last half-century, through the Maori arts movement, waves of protest and the rise of Maori broadcasting, Haare Williams has witnessed and played a part in the changing shape of Maoridom. And in his poetry and prose, in te reo Maori and English, Haare has a unique ability to capture both the wisdom of te ao Maori and the transformation of that world. This book, edited and introduced by Witi Ihimaera, brings together the poetry and prose of Haare Williams to produce a work that is a biography of the man and his times. The book is a celebration of a kaumatua and an exemplar of his wisdom

Reviews

`In this collection, we are privileged to obtain the wisdom of a Maori elder of the old school. And how fortunate we are to hear his songs in a life where, like the kopara he, too, has often had to beat against the storm.' - from the introduction by Witi Ihimaera

Author Bio

Haare Williams MNZM has been dean of Maori education and Maori advisor to the chief executive at Unitec. He was general manager of Aotearoa Radio. He set up a joint venture with the South Seas Film and Television School to train te reo speakers as producers and operators in film and television. He has worked closely with iwi claimant communities and was responsible for waka construction and assembly at Waitangi for the 1990 commemorations as executive director of the 1990 Commission. He has published poetry, exhibited paintings, and written for film and television. He was a cultural advisor for mayors of Auckland, a senior vice president of the Labour Party, and is amorangi at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Witi Ihimaera was the first Maori to publish both a book of short stories and a novel, and since then has published many notable novels and collections of short stories. His best-known novel is The Whale Rider, which was made into a hugely, internationally successful film in 2002. He has also had careers in diplomacy, teaching, theatre, opera, film and television. He has received numerous awards, including the Wattie Book of the Year and the Montana Book Award, the inaugural Star of Oceania Award, University of Hawai'i 2009, a laureate award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation 2009, the Toi Maori Maui Tiketike Award 2011, and the Premio Ostana International Award, presented to him in Italy 2010. In 2004 he became a Distinguished Companion of the Order of New Zealand (the equivalent of a knighthood).