A first national day of commemoration on October 28th is designed to put an end to what has been described as an "uncomfortable silence" about the New Zealand Wars. Witi Ihimaera's new novella Sleeps Standing Moetū is one of a few works of fiction based on this time in history, exploring the Battle of Ōrākau through the eyes of 16-year-old Moetū. It joins Ihimaera's Pounamu, Pounamu and Whale Rider which have been translated into te reo Māori. Licensed translator and AUT lecturer in te reo Māori Hemi Kelly tells Kathryn Ryan about the importance of telling this story and how he has translated Witi's prose word for word, page by page. Witi Ihimaera and Hemi Kelly are appearing at at the Going West Festival at the Waitakere Centre in Henderson, next month.
30 Aug 2017
