Puna Wai Korero: An Anthology of Maori Poetry in English

“Maori artist Selwyn Muru’s description of Hone Tuwhare’s poetry in English, ‘whakaaro Maori, kupu Pakeha’ suggests that even though the words may be English, it’s the thought that makes them Maori. ‘English is our language too,’ he adds. Maori experiences and thoughts are given poetic voice and form in numerous ways – through words and gesture, music and dance, customary and contemporary materials and technologies. The best Maori poetry engages our senses, moves, and challenges us to think creatively. In this process we may learn more about ourselves and the world around us.” —Moana Nepia

Robert Sullivan (Ngapuhi) and Reina Whaitiri (Kai Tahu) have edited three previous award-winning anthologies with Albert Wendt: Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English (winner of the Montana New Zealand Book Award), Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English II (finalist in the New Zealand Post Book Awards), and Homeland: New Writing from America, the Pacific, and Asia.

Reina Whaitiri (Kaitahu) was born in 1943 to a Pakeha mother and Maori father. Before retiring from teaching in 2008, she taught English literature at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and, before that, at the University of Auckland, where she also co-ordinated the University of Auckland Tertiary Education Foundation Programme that encouraged and prepared students for return to tertiary study. She is an editor and researcher of Maori and Pacific literature. Her major research interest is Maori women writers and she has published articles on being Maori and on Maori women’s poetry and has co-edited two volumes of poetry by Maori and Pacific Island writers, Whetu Moana and Mauri Ola. She lives in Auckland with partner Albert Wendt.