How do you say “token translation in Māori?”
This article was originally published in The Spinoff on 5 March, 2018. One thing I’ve noticed about being a te reo speaker is just how often people assume I can do translations. I’ve had requests to translate proverbs and prayers, lines of songs, ingredients, whole passages of books and even some wedding vows. Sometimes, it […]
MoreLosing, Gaining, Reclaiming: Knitting with variegated yarn.
In my life, I’ve had three names. I have lost one, borrowed two, and am in the process of reclaiming the first. Each time, I’ve felt the strangeness of the new syllables in my mouth, spoken them so timidly at first that my name seems to dissolve into thin air before it’s even heard. Memeha […]
MoreGrowing up in Wairoa: A snapshot
I met a couple of kids on the banks of the Wairoa and we got talking. I’d stopped to ask them where the best spots to swim were and they waved their arms wide and told me anywhere along here was good. “Except shit-log,” one of the boys clarified, and they all agreed, pointing […]
More
Flesh is brief
Sadness is a meal I can eat. Like pork bones, I wrap my lips around it and suck. Salty, sweet, but ultimately unsatisfying. I’m left wanting more. Drop the bone onto the plate with a clatter. Flesh is brief. I’ll not go back. I’m done. I’m done. Ahh, but those sorts of promises are a […]
More