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1922
Born in Kaikohe
___________
1939
Apprentices at
Otahuhu Railway
___________
1964
Publishes first
collection of poetry,
No Ordinary Sun
___________
1969
Burns Fellowship
___________
1985
DAAD scholarship
to study in Germany
___________
1989
In the Wilderness
Without a Hat opens
at Taki Rua Theatre,
Wellington
___________
1999
Te Mata Poet Laureate
___________
2002
Piggy-Back Moon
shortlisted in the
Montana New Zealand
Book Awards
___________
1999
Te Mata Poet Laureate
___________
2005
Oooooo......!!!, Published by Steele Roberts and received an honourary Doctor of Literature degree from the University of Auckland.
_________
2008
Hone died in his sleep in Dunedin on Wednesday,
16 January, 2008
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Hone Tuwhare(1922 - 2008) Nga Puhi
Poet
Hone is often described as having brought an exciting new dimension to New Zealand poetry: his voice communicated a distinctly Maori perspective marked by a lyrical response to the landscape. His work remained committed to Maori issues, though also highlighting multicultural and working-class concerns, suggesting a world of shifting, multiple identities.
Born in 1922 in Kaikohe, Hone began to write whilst an apprentice at the Otahuhu
Railway Workshops, encouraged by fellow poet R. A. K. Mason.
His first collection, No Ordinary Sun (1964), was the first book of
poetry by a Maori writer in English. Now in its tenth impression, it
remains one of the most widely read individual collections of poetry
in New Zealand literary history.
While in Dunedin as a Burns Fellow (1969), Hone met painter Ralph Hotere,
who provided the illustrations for his next four volumes: Come Rain
Hail (1970), Sap-Wood & Milk (1972), Something Nothing (1974) and
Making a Fist of It: Poems and Short Stories (1978).
During the 1970s Hone became involved in Maori cultural and political
initiatives. His international reputation also grew: there were invitations
to visit both China and Germany, leading, among other opportunities,
to the publication of Was wirklicher ist als Sterben in 1985.
While his earlier poems were kept in print, new work was constantly
added. Hone's play, In the Wilderness Without a Hat,
was published in 1991. Three further collections of poetry followed:
Short Back and Sideways: Poems & Prose (1992), Deep River Talk (1993), and Shape-Shifter (1997).
In 1998 Janet Hunt wrote Hone Tuwhare: A Biography published by Godwit Press. A year later he was named New Zealand's
second Te Mata Poet Laureate, the outcome of which was Piggy-Back Moon (2002).
Since receiving his Icon Award, Hone has been awarded one of the inaugural (2003) $60,000 Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement for poetry. The other winners were Janet Frame for fiction; and Michael King for non-fiction.
In 1998, Tuwhare received an honorary Doctor of Literature from Otago University and again in 2005 from the University of Auckland. Also in 2005, Steele Roberts published Oooooo.....!!!, a collection of diverse new poems.
He was the subject of a documentary The Return Home screened at the Telecom Film Festival, and had a compilation album of his poems set to music, featuring New Zealand musicians. Tuwhare the compilation album was also the basis for a special concert of top New Zealand recording artists at the 2006 NZ International Arts Festival.
Hone's Icon medallion (designed by John Edgar) and his Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate carved tokotoko, are housed at the Eastern Southland Gallery in Gore.
For more information visit the New Zealand Book Council website. |
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