Hinemoana Baker (born 1968) is a New Zealand poet, musician and recording artist, teacher of creative writing and broadcaster.

Biography

Baker was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

in 1968 and grew up in Whakatane and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, and descends from the

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Poi ...

tribe in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand, and from

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatu/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti Raukawa reco ...

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its ''rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston N ...

and

Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and arou ...

in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. she is living in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, after completing 12 months as

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

's Berlin Writer in Residence in 2016. Baker holds an MA in creative writing from the

International Institute of Modern Letters The International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) ( mi, Te Pūtahi Tuhi Auaha o te Ao) is a centre of creative writing based within Victoria University of Wellington. Founded in 2001, the IIML offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses (i ...

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

Career

Baker's writing has been published in a number of journals and anthologies. Her works include the poetry collections ''mātuhi , needle'' (2004), ''kōiwi kōiwi , bone bone'' (2010), ''waha , mouth'' (2014) and ''funkhaus'' (2020). As a musician she has recorded albums of original music. Her first album, ''puāwai'' (2004), was a finalist for the

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

and the APRA Silver Scrolls Māori Language award. Bas has co-edited the anthology ''Kaupapa: New Zealand Poets, World Issues'' in 2007 and the ''4th Floor'' online literary journal of Whitireia Polytechnic in 2008. She is one of six German and New Zealand poets to contribute to a collection ''Transit of Venus'', published by

Victoria University Press Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2022, the press had published around 800 books. History Vi ...

in 2016. Baker has written two plays which were presented in Taki Rua Theatre's ''Te Reo Māori Season''''. Māua Tāua'', (produced in 1995) and ''Pūkeko Tuawhā''. In addition to her Creative New Zealand residency in Berlin, Baker was Arts Queensland Poet in Residence in 2009 and writer in residence with the International Writing Programme at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in 2010. She spent 2014 as writer in residence at the International Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University. She has appeared at festivals and events in New Zealand and in Australia, Indonesia, Europe and the US. ''Funkhaus'' was shortlisted for the

Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry The Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry is an award at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, presented annually to the winner of the poetry category. The winner receives a 10,000 prize. History The New Zealand Book Awards were set up by the New Z ...

at the 2021

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder W ...

References

External links

*
Hinemoana Baker
at the Berlin International Literature Festival 2016
Interview with Baker

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

, 2015
Interview with Baker
''Stuff'', 2014
''Te Ara - encyclopedia of NZ completed''
featuring Baker reading a poem, Radio New Zealand, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Hinemoana 1968 births New Zealand poets New Zealand women poets Living people International Writing Program alumni 21st-century New Zealand poets International Institute of Modern Letters alumni