Witi Ihimaera
Australian Literature
A New Zealand
writer, best known for his novels and short stories, which portray the Maori
people and their customs, as well as their constant struggle to maintain their
community against often destructive European forces. His works were written in
English, but he used Maori words and phrases in the narrative to give a sense
of Maori culture.His first collection
of short stories, Pounamu Pounamu
(Jade), was published in 1974. It and two novels—Tangi (Mourning, 1973), on the grief of a son for his father, and Whanau (Extended Family, 1974)— combined
to form a trilogy on rural life. The New
Net Goes Fishing (1977), however, is a collection of short stories set in
the city. Ihimaera was long occupied with his work as a professional diplomat,
and it was not until 1986 that he published a longer novel, The Matriarch, which deals with the wars
between the Maori and the European colonists in New Zealand between 1860 and
1872. The book The Whale Rider (1987)
marked a return to his earlier, simpler style. In 1994 Bulibasha, a seriocomic tale of two sheep-shearing families in
conflict near Gisborne, was published. In 1995 it was followed by Nights in the Garden of Spain, a novel
concerning issues of homosexuality. Ihimaera was also the editor of Into the World Of Light (1978), a collection of
contemporary Maori writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment