HBAF 2020 Presents - Native Son

Witi Ihimaera in conversation with Marty Smith.

Among many firsts, Witi Ihimaera is the first Māori writer to publish both a book of short stories and a novel. Writer, journalist, postman, Distinguished Companion in the New Zealand Order of Merit, honoured by the French as a Cavalier Des Artes et Lettres... and still he insists he’s just a boy from Waituhi: yeah, right.

Witi will talk with Marty Smith about his memoir 'Native Son'; show family photos, and describe how he found a place in New Zealand literature, a voice and an identity... and put a secret past to rest.

As for Marty, she hopes to lead both Witi and herself through whatever meanderings their awa wants to take, following ideas along as they do in writing, to see what falls out. Let’s see them unpack Witi’s current obsessions, including his new book 'Navigating the Stars: Māori Creation Myths', which he will launch after the session. For Witi, it’s the book he was born to write.

In conjunction with the Hawkes Bay Readers and Writers Festival.