Breathing Words
b"
For the very first session at the very first Going West Festival in 1996, it felt appropriate to open with the original language of Aoteroa, te reo M\\u0101ori, with a session on M\\u0101ori oral and written literature called Breathing Words.
We were very proud to bring three stellar M\\u0101ori voices to the stage to explore important M\\u0101ori oral and acoustic traditions through te reo and taonga p\\u016boro, and examine how they inform written literature and what \\u2018literacy\\u2019 means in the context of Aotearoa.
Guests for this session were Ng\\u0101huia Te Awekotuku, Robert Sullivan and Bernard Makoare.
Ng\\u0101huia Te Awekotuku (Te Arawa, T\\u016bhoe) is a leading feminist writer, lesbian-rights activist and advocate for M\\u0101ori sovereignty. She has contributed to many international feminist journals and published both fiction and research-based works internationally.
Robert Sullivan (Ng\\u0101puhi) is a poet and academic. He is a significant internationally published M\\u0101ori poet with seven collections of poetry released. His poetry is also widely anthologised. Sullivan's writing explores dimensions of contemporary urban experience, including local racial and social issues. His writing has a postmodern feel, where history and mythology, individual and collective experience, become areas of refined focus. Sullivan\\u2019s work has won or been nominated for many awards
Bernard Makoare (Te Waiariki, Te Kai Tutae, Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi-nui-tonu) is a traditionally taught wood carver, taonga p\\u016boro musician and practising artist and designer. His work is a reflection of his heritage, his environments and the importance he places in whanaungatanga and relationships between people, places and significant objects.
"