Q&A: Whiti Hereaka
Author photos by Tabitha Arthur Photography
We are super-excited about this novel by the incomparable Whiti Hereaka (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa). Kurangaituku is the story of Hatupatu told from the perspective of the traditional “monster”, Kurangaituku, the bird woman. In this version of the story, Kurangaituku takes us on the journey of her extraordinary life. The novel is told in two parts, and can be read in either order (from the “front” or the “back” of the book) - it’s creatively and aesthetically incredible! Whiti answers our Q&A in celebration of this special book’s release.
1. How are you and what have you been up to lately?
I’m feeling nervous and excited about Kurangaituku coming out after many years of work on it — so I’m channelling some of that frenetic energy into mostly frivolous craft projects. I’m hoping this weekend to try a bit of leatherwork because I’ve found a pattern for a leather bird mask — I just have to decide whether I want to try an owl or a raven first. I’m also thinking of making a crown of soot sprites inspired by Studio Ghibli.
2. If you were working in a bookshop, how would you hand-sell your book to customers? What would you say to convince them to buy and read it?
Funnily enough, I think the feature that was the hardest sell for me as a writer is the thing that might sell the book in a bookshop! I’d show the customer that Kurangaituku is a flip book and can be read from whichever way you happen to pick it up.
I’d also say that it is a retelling of Hatupatu and the Bird-woman from her point of view. I tend to get very excitable when I talk about it so perhaps my jazz hands woud bamboozle the customer into the sale!
3. What books (or other art/media) influenced you while writing this book, or generally in your life?
I’ve been lying to myself that I “only” spent nine years writing this book, so as you can imagine over that period there have been so many influences! So, this is by no means an exhaustive list. First must be the pūrākau of Hatupatu — as a child that was from an illustrated book published by Reed. Thomas Nagel’s essay What is it like to be a bat? American Gods by Neil Gaiman and most of Gregory Maguire’s work, but in particular Wicked. Under the Skin by Michael Faber and the film that is (very loosely) based on it. House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard. Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson. And the installation Fireflies on the Water by Yayoi Kasama.
4. What good books have you read lately?
I’ve just finished the graphic novel 1984 (Orwell, Illustrated by Fido Nesti). Before that The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay, Fen by Daisy Johnson and Butcherbird by Cassie Hart — so lots of spooky and unsettling animal content lately. I’m just about to start The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin and A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders. I’m also wanting to start Foundation by Isaac Asimov because I’m really enjoying the TV adaption (which has nothing to do with my crush on Lee Pace. Nothing to do with it, I say!)
Buy Kurangaituku (Huia Publishing), $35
