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Events description
The author of Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason, described it as ‘Desperately funny, hysterically sad, so beautiful and so humane’. Grand, the luminous memoir by award-winning writer and podcaster Noelle McCarthy, is a razor-sharp, raw and revealing look at the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, running away and coming home, and alcoholism and recovery. From growing up in 1970s and 1980s Cork in Ireland, to hitting the party scene in early 2000s Auckland, McCarthy shares her journey to the brink and back as she becomes a mother herself and reconciles with the ghosts of her past. In conversation with Julie Hill.
DAME FIONA KIDMAN: SO FAR, FOR NOW
One of our most acclaimed authors, Dame Fiona Kidman, in conversation with Morrin Rout about her third instalment of memoir, So Far, For Now. Warm-hearted and gutsy, Dame Fiona shares with generosity of spirit her experience of widowhood, literary festivals, her writing life and insights into researching the lives of Jean Batten and of Albert Black – the second to last man executed in New Zealand – and how she sought justice for him.
TĀNGATA NGĀI TAHU: PEOPLE OF NGĀI TAHU 2
The second volume of Tāngata Ngāi Tahu celebrates the rich and diverse lives of the people of Ngāi Tahu, profiling some 50 whānauka who have contributed to their iwi, hapū and whānau: here are wāhine toa, rangatira and tohunga, community leaders, activists and scholars, social workers, politicians, fishermen and farmers, sportspeople, adventurers, weavers, performers and many more. Join Tā Tipene O’Regan and the book’s editors, Helen Brown and Michael Stevens, in conversation with UC’s Jeanette King, for a journey through some of these extraordinary lives.
KERI HULME: HE KŌTUKU REREKA TAHI
‘He Kōtuku Rereka Tahi’ evokes a glimpse of the rare white heron in flight, and it’s used to describe someone of great mana who is rarely seen. WORD Christchurch presents a very special night of storytelling, whisky and guitars to celebrate the life and art of the brilliant Keri Hulme (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, 1947–2021).
Keri Hulme’s the bone people is one of New Zealand’s most famous and influential books. In her poetry and short fiction, too, the strange music of her work has captivated readers worldwide and inspired a generation of wordsmiths at home.
Pour yourself a dram and settle in as our guests share a passage from Keri’s work that has moved them, then respond with a specially commissioned piece of their own. With Stacey Morrison as your host, be transported by Whiti Hereaka, Tina Makareti and Ariana Tikao live on stage, and Patricia Grace and Marian Evans via video link. We welcome representatives of Keri’s whānau, Matt Salmons and Anna Hulme, to read some of Keri’s early unpublished work. And you can glimpse her life through some of her favourite music, performed live by Harry Harrison, Rānui Ngārimu and Ariana Tikao. Bring your copy of the bone people. Not to be missed.
What are the differences between truth and memory? And what are the consequences, and for whom, when someone decides to commit their life story to the page? Join three remarkable authors, bookseller Ruth Shaw (The Bookseller at the End of the World), writer Megan Dunn (Things I Learned at Art School), and writer/broadcaster Clementine Ford (How We Love) for this discussion of the complexities, challenges and joys of writing memoir. Victor Roger in the chair.
CHRIS FINLAYSON: THE INNER CIRCLE
The remarkable Christopher Finlayson was in the engine room of the John Key-led National government, serving as Attorney-General, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister for the Arts, Culture and Heritage, and overseeing New Zealand’s two main intelligence agencies. With Kim Hill, he relives a career ranging from his early years as a lawyer representing Ngāi Tahu in its treaty claims, through to his many high-profile years spent working alongside, and getting to know, the real John Key.
Respected writer Nicky Pellegrino and journalist, mother and author Miriama Kamo join forces for a candid and witty conversation about the realities of menopause, and how to navigate this often-challenging phase of life. Drawing on expert research and personal experience, they’ll dive into hot flushes, weight, memory, sleep, anxiety and, last but not least, the libido that was there, somewhere, a minute ago…
KATE DE GOLDI: EARTHQUAKES AND CATHEDRALS
What do you get if you cross Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with the Christchurch earthquakes? You get Eddy Eddy, the off-beat, funny new novel from Kate de Goldi, author of the iconic The 10pm Question. Kate speaks with Liz Grant about love, pet minding, religious doubt, living with loss and what it was like setting a coming-of-age tale in our own city in the aftermath of that pivotal time.
After its resounding success in 2021, Confluence returns with a brand-new line-up of Pasfika and Māori musicians and poets for a joyous celebration of the cultural, musical and ancestral connections between the islands of Polynesia and Aotearoa. With Daisy Speaks as your curator and host, and the Judah Band laying down epic grooves, tune in for the stylings of Karlo Mila, Dietrich Soakai, Robert Sullivan, essa may ranapiri, Micahlei Timo and special musical guest Mahalia Simpson.
NUKU: 100 KICKASS INDIGENOUS WOMEN
Qiane Matata-Sipu’s groundbreaking multimedia NUKU project brings together 100 leading indigenous women, from entrepreneurs to change-makers to artists, with a single goal: to tell their stories on their own terms. Qiane takes the stage with three dynamic women featured in the NUKU book: broadcaster and te reo champion Stacey Morrison, 15-year-old CEO and author Georgia Latu and poet and leadership executive Dr Karlo Mila MNZM. Come along for an hour of generous kōrero, followed by all-in chats and kai in the foyer outside.
Every culture has myths, fables and legends that shape our understanding of the past, and of ourselves. One of our most celebrated fiction writers, Lloyd Jones, has drawn on these genres in his recent novels, The Cage and The Fish, to create fables for our modern age. He speaks with Bernadette Hall about the beautiful, dark Kafkaesque tales he loves telling, taking imaginative risks and how allegorical forms can shine a light on connection and alienation, longing and love.
Many cultures have traditions and stories about Matariki (Pleiades), the constellation at the heart of the Māori new year. Award-winning journalist and author Miriama Kamo (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga) has just published a beautiful new book on our own Matariki stories, and those from the Pacific Islands, Australia, Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa. She joins Māori astronomer and passionate storyteller Victoria Campbell (Kāi Tahu), who was involved in setting up the new national holiday, for a rich conversation about our relationship to the heavens. Bring the whole whānau down for a flight around the globe, and up to the stars.
NATURE UNSEEN: A CONVERSATION WITH ANNETTE LEES
How do writers capture the natural world on the page? How can we convey the vast complexity and subtle beauty of life through words? Can good writing make us put down our book, go outside and learn to see anew? Annette Lees won fans with Swim, about the bracing delights of swimming outdoors. Now with After Dark she weaves acute observation with poignant memoir to evoke the challenges and pleasures of embracing walking and observing at night. With Ekant Veer.
THE FARAWAY NEAR SESSIONS
THE FARAWAY NEAR: PIP WILLIAMS
An essential session for those who love words: all of us, right? Inspired by the discovery that many words omitted from the original Oxford English Dictionary concerned women’s lives, Pip Williams took to the archives to learn more. The result? Her novel The Dictionary of Lost Words, wherein young Esme gathers all the words literally discarded from the OED process to fashion her own compendium: one that offers an alternative history of the English language. In conversation from Adelaide with Nicky Pellegrino.
THE FARAWAY NEAR: SARAH KRASNOSTEIN
Sarah Krasnostein is one of the finest observers of human nature writing today. Her latest, The Believer, is an intimate portrait of ordinary people unified by one thing: a belief in extraordinary things that most people would consider impossible.
Live from her home in Melbourne, in conversation with Kim Hill, she introduces us to a Buddhist death doula, paranormal investigators, a woman out of prison after murdering her husband, and Rhonda, who attributes to UFO activity the disappearance of her fiance and his plane. She discusses getting to know the unique individuals in the book, and asks, without judgement, how people find certainty in the absence of knowledge.
THE FARAWAY NEAR: HEATHER MORRIS
Known for her compassionately-told stories of resilience and survival, Heather Morris dazzled readers with her sensational blockbuster debut The Tattooist of Auschwitz in 2018. Also based on a true story, her latest novel Three Sisters tells the gripping story of three remarkable Slovakian Jewish sisters who survived years of confinement in Auschwitz, and the rich lives they went on to forge afterwards. In conversation from Brisbane with Morrin Rout.
THE FARAWAY NEAR: EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL
In 2014, Emily St. John Mandel published her prescient novel Station Eleven, which charted the fallout of a swine flu pandemic which wipes out 99% of civilisation. A sensational television adaptation followed at the height of COVID-19. She joins Rachael King from New York City to discuss a writer’s life during a pandemic, the power of imagination when physical travel is out of reach, and how her new novel, the virtuosic Sea of Tranquility, might just change your opinion of what time travel novels can be.
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