Apirana Taylor (born 15 March 1955) is a New Zealand poet, novelist, performer, story-teller, musician and painter.

Biography

Born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

15 March 1955, Apirana Taylor is of

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

descent with affiliations to

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand ...

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi (Iwi is the Maori word for tribe) located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapū. History Early ...

and

Ngāti Ruanui Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the traditional areas of the iwi. History Early hist ...

. He was a prominent member of the Māori theatre cooperative

Te Ohu Whakaari Te Ohu Whakaari was a Māori theatre cooperative formed by Rangimoana Taylor in the early 1980s that created and performed plays across New Zealand. About Rangimoana Taylor was inspired to form Te Ohu Whakaari by his experiences in an Auckland ...

alongside his brother

Rangimoana Taylor Rangimoana Taylor is an actor, theatre director, storyteller from New Zealand with more than 35 years in the industry. He has performed nationally and internationally and was the lead in the feature film ''Hook Line and Sinker'' (2011). He was a ...

and playwright sister

Riwia Brown Riwia Brown (née Taylor; born 1957) is a New Zealand playwright. She is the screenwriter of the popular and award-winning New Zealand movie ''Once Were Warriors'' (1994). The ''Once Were Warriors'' screenplay, adapted from the book of the sam ...

. Plays of Taylors that Te Ohu Whakaari presented included ''Kohanga'' about the kohanga reo movement of Māori language revival and ''Te'' ''Whānau a Tuanui Jones.'' ''Kohanga'' was awarded 'best debut play' by the Dominion Post. Taylor has published three volumes of poetry – ''Eyes of the Ruru'' (1979), ''Soft Leaf Falls of the Moon'' (1997) and ''Te Ata Kura; the red-tipped dawn'' (2004); three short-story collections; a novel, ''He Tangi Aroha'' (1993); and two plays. He was a runner-up for the Pegasus Book Award in 1985, for ''He Rau Aroha: A Hundred Leaves of Love''. Taylors play ''Whaea Kairau: Mother Hundred Eater'' (1995) first produced by

Taki Rua Taki Rua is a theatre organisation based in Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand that has produced many contemporary Māori theatre productions. Taki Rua has been going since 1983 and has had several name changes over that time including The New Depo ...

is described as a 'seminal Maori theatre work'. The play is an epic story set in the late 1840s in New Zealand, the central character is a dispossessed Irish woman and family. Poetry by Taylor was included in ''UPU,'' a curation of Pacific Island writers’ work which was first presented at the Silo Theatre as part of the Auckland Arts Festival in March 2020. ''UPU'' was remounted as part of the

Kia Mau Festival The Kia Mau Festival, previously called Ahi Kaa Festival, is a biennial performing arts festival in Wellington, New Zealand. In te reo Māori, kia mau is "a call to stay - an invitation to join us". The festival covers Māori, Pasifika and in ...

in Wellington in June 2021.

Works

* ''3 shades'', poetry by Apirana Taylor, Lindsay Rabbitt, L.E. Scott; with an introduction by Alan Loney, Wellington: Voice Press, 1981 * ''Ki te ao: new stories'',

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Canterbury University Press The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

, 2004 *''A Canoe in Midstream'', poetry, Canterbury University Press, 2009 *''Five Strings,'' novel, Anahera Press, May 2017

Notes

References

*Apirana Taylor (2004). ''Te Ata Kura, the red-tipped dawn, a collection of poetry by Apirana Taylor''. Canterbury University Press.
New Zealand Book Council profileNew Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Apirana 1956 births Living people Musicians from Wellington New Zealand male novelists People from Wellington City New Zealand Māori writers 20th-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century New Zealand novelists 20th-century New Zealand painters 20th-century New Zealand male writers 21st-century New Zealand male writers Ngāti Porou people Te Whānau-ā-Apanui people Ngāti Ruanui people