Apirana Taylor
Apirana Taylor (Ngati Porou, Te Whanau-Apanui) is a poet, playwright, storyteller, actor, painter and musician.
Apirana was born in Wellington in 1955. He worked as an actor at Wellington's Taki Rua Theatre, and in the early 1980s with the theatre troupe Te Ohu Whakaari. He has also authored many of the stories for the 'Ears' radio programme on Radio New Zealand. Apirana has taught taha Maori and drama at Polytechnics and at Toi Whakaari The New Zealand Drama School. Apirana won the 1994 Te Ha Award for Poetry. He won the I.B.M Young Writers award, and was runner up in the Pegasus Book Awards. His first play Kohanga was voted play of the year by the Dominion and Evening Post. In 1996 he was Massey University's Writer in Residence and in 2003 he was Writer in Residence at Canterbury University.
Apirana helped form Maori theatre at a time when no such theatre existed and has acted in and written many plays for theater. He was nominated best debut actor by the Dominion and Evening Post. He has been nominated as best supporting actor in The New Zealand Television awards for playing the part of Billy in Tiger Country. Apirana has also played major roles in the internationally released television films Moby Dick and The Swiss family Robinson.
Apirana has travelled nationally and internationally either as a poet or a storyteller. He has also worked at the New Zealand Drama School and Whitireia Polytechnic as a tutor in Drama and Creative Writing. Apirana has twice been invited to tour India as a poet and has also traveled throughout Europe when he was asked to participate in a three-month poetry tour of Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. His poetry has been translated into German and Italian.
Publications by Apirana Taylor include:
Eyes of the Ruru. A book of poetry. Published by Voice Press.
Three Shades. A book of poetry. Published by Voice Press.
He Rau Aroha. Short stories. Published by Penguin.
Ki Te Ao. Short stories. Published by Penguin.
He Tangi Aroha. A Novel. Published by Huia Publishers.
Soft Leaf Falls of the Moon. Poetry. Published by the Pohutukawa Press.
Kohanga and Whaea Kai Rau. Two Plays. Published by the Pohutukawa Press.
Iti te Kopara. Short stories. Published by the Pohutukawa Press.
Apirana has also been published in many major New Zealand Anthologies including:
Doors: Poetry for Secondary Schools. Published by Leaders Press.
Jewels in the Water: Poetry for Secondary Schools. Published by Leaders Press.
Where's Waari: A History of the Maori through the Short Story. Published by Reed.
Growing up Maori: Published by Tandem Press.
The Puffin New Zealand Story Book: Published by Penguin.
An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry: Published by Oxford University Press. Auckland.
The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Short Stories: Published by Penguin.
Te Ao Marama 1: Published by Reed Books.
Te Ao Marama 4: Published by Reed Books.
Authors Choice: An Anthology of New Zealand Short Stories. Published by Penguin Books.
Parihaka: a book about Parihaka. Published by the City Gallery.
Updated information:
In 1993, his first novel He Tangi Aroha was published by Huia Publishers. His play Whaea Kairau (commissioned in 1995 and published in 1999) is about the evils of unrestrained capitalism. Soft Leaf Falls of the Moon, a book of poetry, and Iti Te Kopara, a collection of his complete short stories, are both published by the Pohutukawa Press.
Apirana has travelled nationally and internationally as a poet and storyteller and has worked at the NZ Drama School and Whitireia Polytechnic as a tutor. During 2002, Apirana was Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury.
Links:
Apirana Taylor on the NZ Book Council website
An Interview with Apirana Taylor (2002)