Coming Up At Wairarapa Word: October-December 2014

Madeleine Slavick & co do a great job running the monthly Wairarapa Word. Check out what's coming up during the remainder of 2014 and get to one or more of these events if you can!

5 OCTOBER – Stories of our Landscape – with Gaye Sutton & Joseph Potangaroa at the Tarragon Cafe, Carterton. Suitable for all ages. KOHA.

Joseph Potangaroa works to preserve stories and knowledge about our landscape and history – his book on the life cycle of the tūna/eel, for instance, is an important resource. Joe is currently writing eight books of children’s stories set in the Wairarapa on flora, fauna, and the landscape. His presentation of the bilingual stories has been assisted by Gaye Sutton, a Carterton resident who has been telling stories ever since her two beautiful children were born. In her work as a storyteller, she has travelled from Norway to Northland and places in between. Along the way, she has published short stories, a chapbook of poems, and has written a novel which she hopes may be published.  Joe has lived all but five months of his 43 years around Masterton and is a kaituhituhi of the Ngāti Hamua hapū of Rangitāne o Wairarapa – Kaituhituhi are trained to understand and then share knowledge on relationships between people and with the rest of the world. Join us for an afternoon of spiritual and historical stories that surround us here in the Wairarapa. Suitable for all ages. (This event supported by Carterton District Creative Communities Scheme.)

2 NOVEMBER – Rhondda Greig – at Almo’s Books, Carterton. KOHA.

Rhondda Greig’s books include Eavesdropping with Angels (poetry), the picture books Matarawa House and Matarawa Cats (a New Zealand classic), and Noa’s Calf, a monochrome picture book without words. She is currently working on a new book of poems tentatively titled Chew the Bright Hysteria.  For this session of Wairarapa Word, she will read a selection of her work, and discuss how text and image inform her creative life. A painter, installation artist, poet, children’s book writer, book designer, costume designer, and more, Greig studied at the Auckland School of Architecture before committing herself to a career as a practicing artist. She has held many solo exhibitions across New Zealand and abroad, with permanent installations at the Carterton Events Centre, Masterton Town Hall, and at St Paul’s Cathedral in Wellington, among other locations. She lives in Matarawa. (This event supported by Carterton District Creative Communities Scheme.)

7 DECEMBER – Glenn Colquhoun - at King St. Live, Masterton. KOHA.

Glenn Colquhoun is a medical practitioner and author. His acclaimed books The Art of Walking Upright(poems) and Jumping Ship (essay) are both about Te Tii, a community in the Bay of Islands. Playing God discusses illness and health, from the point of view of the patient and doctor - the book has gone Platinum, with over 10,000 copies sold. He often writes about the extended family. How We Fell – A Love Story is written to his ex-wife about their ten-year relationship, An Explanation of Poetry to My Father is an exploration of why the son of a builder writes poems, and the children’s books Uncle Glenn and Me features a nephew while Uncle Glenn and Me Too a niece. He lives on the Kapiti Coast. (This event supported by Masterton District Creative Communities Scheme.)

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