Connection to land at heart of talk

Returning to the South for the New Zealand Young Writers Festival is a joyful homecoming for Kāi Tahu writer Tessa Patrick.

Born in Timaru, raised there and in Nelson, and now based in Auckland, Patrick is fascinated by how whenua (land) and place are constant threads through all writing.

This will be at the heart of "The land holds our stories", in which Patrick will be in conversation with writers Rauhina Scott-Fyfe (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāi Pākehā), Tōrea Scott-Fyfe (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha) and Iona Winter (Waitaha, Kāi Tahu).

The session, to be held on Saturday, 10am-11am, at Te Whare o Rukutia, will explore perspectives of the land and how writers — regardless of their whakapapa — can delve deeper into the whenua within their work.

"I’m excited to be bringing these writers together to talk about the influence of the land from a Kāi Tahu perspective," she said.

"Rauhina and Tōrea are siblings and young, emerging writers, and Iona is joining us as an aunty, so I am looking forward to a really special korero.

"Tōrea recently completed a master’s in creative writing and is working on a novel, which is really concerned with space and this great southern region.

"Rauhina is a poet whose work is grounded in understanding that deep history.

"Iona is a poet, essayist and storyteller with a lot of experience, so her contributions will be really valuable."

Māori guardianship of the land was of vital importance and writing in New Zealand was closely connected to te ao Māori, which would be explored as part of the discussion, Patrick said.

A freelance writer, Patrick is pursuing a master of creative writing at the University of Auckland.

While at the festival, she is looking forward to attending a lot of sessions and workshops.

"As a writer, being able to participate in workshops is great. It is great to add to your knowledge.

"I have also heard great things about the Otago Poetry Slam event, so I’m looking to checking that out on Saturday night," she said.

brenda.harwood@thestar.co.nz