This is a strange memoir. It's a contradiction: honest but often frustratingly oblique; explicit in some places and coy in others; its people and places and times evoked in depth but its narrative also, at times, on breathless fast-forward. One of the book's strengths is its visceral scenes, but when these take place 50 years ago, the level of detail - and dialogue - makes this read more like fiction than a memoir. In other words, it is not wholly satisfying or successful as life-writing. And yet this is an important book: vital to write, vital to publish and vital to read. Ngahuia te Awekōtuku has lived a life of many contradictions, warring impulses and interests, changing names and identities and allegiances.
It's a life of collusion and controversy, rejection and leadership. This century, she has been a respected Māori scholar, an expert on tā moko, winning awards and major grants; she is now an emeritus professor. In Hine Toa we have the 20th-century prequel, helping us understand how unique and immense this achievement has been: she is the first Māori woman to be given the emeritus title at a New Zealand university. In 1981, she was the first Māori woman to be awarded a PhD in New Zealand. The first ever, she notes, was Ngāpare Hopa, who received her PhD from Oxford University just two years earlier.
Denne historien er fra April 27-May 3, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra April 27-May 3, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.