Join us to hear from three contemporary writers’ who offered new writing pieces as part of the pukapuka Rewi: Āta haere, kia tere. 

essa may ranapiri, Gina Cole and Samuel Te Kani each chose a speculative drawing by Rewi Thompson as a catalyst for new writing. For this event, each writer will read their piece written for Rewi along with new writing that they have been working on.

Rewi: Āta haere, kia tere is a tribute to the late architect Rewi Thompson (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa), a visionary thinker who believed that great architecture is crafted through careful consideration of people and place. the book brings together a breath taking range of his projects, from conceptual dreamscapes to one-of-a-kind homes.

This event is presented in connection with our current exhibition, KOHA: The speculative worlds of Rewi Thompson.

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Samuel Te Kani (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) is a freelance wirter, author and sexpert. His short story collection 'Please, Call Me Jesus' was published by Dead Bird Books in 2021. He lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Gina Cole is a freelance writer of Fijijan and Pākehā descent. Her collection 'Black Ice Matter' won the Hubert Church Best First Book Award for Fiction at the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Her work has been widely anthologised and published in literary journals. She was the inaugural Pasifika curator at the Auckland Writers festival in 2021. She is a qualified lawyer, holds a PHD in creative writing from Massey University Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa and is an Honorary Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa. Her second book, 'Na Viro' (Huia 2022) is a science fiction fantasy novel and a work of Pasifikafuturisum. She lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

essa may ranapiri (Ngaati Wehi Wehi, NgaatiRaukawa-ki-te-Tonga, Te Arawa, Ngaati Puukeko, Ngaati Takataapui, Clan Gunn) is a poet who lives on whenua Ngaati Wairere. Their first book of poetry, 'ransack' (Te Herenga Waka Universitv Press. 2019), was longlisted for the 2020 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. They are the featured writer in Poetry New Zealand Yearbook 2020 (Massey University Press, 2020) with their work 'HAUNT|HUNT' They also dabble in visual arts; their 'redinblack' series of paintings was hosted in the Gus Fisher Gallery as part of the queeralgorithms exhibition in 2020. Their second book, 'ECHIDNA', was published in 2022 by Te Herenga Waka University Press. They are co-editor, with Michelle Rahurahu, of Kupu Toi Takataapui. They will write until they're dead.