Book of poems written by the people of Pātea, Waverley, Waitōtara
More than 150 people from the southernmost parts of Taranaki have had a collection of their poems published.
Ngā Pūrehu Kapohau features poems from 154 authors, aged 7 to 94, most of whom have never had anything published before.
Co-editors Trevor Landers and poet Dr Vaughan Rapatahana, who was born in Pātea, had planned to write a slim volume of 20 poems each, but Rapatahana had done a lot of work with readers in school, and they thought they’d open it up, Landers said.
“We advertised in the media, including social media, and visited every school in the district and ran poetry workshops. The result absolutely astounded us.”
People thought they’d get about 20 poems, but the book ended up at 424 pages, with more than 140 of the poets being first-time published authors.
“When I did a workshop with Pātea High School, a lot of the students were blissfully aware of how good their writing was. One poem was rescued literally from the waste paper bin. Another we haven’t put in the book because the person was adamant they didn’t want it in there because the quality wasn’t good enough.”
That poet was fluent in te reo Māori and English, and her writing was very good, Landers said.
“It demonstrates the largely untapped and latent potential of the talent in the district, particularly rangatahi.”
While most schools in the area contributed poems, more than 60% came from the wider community.
There was a lot of editing involved in the project, Landers said.
“We always give them editorial suggestions how their writing may be improved, and then it’s up to them whether they follow that. People don’t realise it’s very rare you write a poem in one sitting and nail it the first time.”
The project was funded by South Taranaki District Council and the Mercury Energy Wind Farm Trust, with the bulk coming from Mātātuhi Taranaki, a literacy society that promotes work, particularly bilingual work, in Taranaki.
Some of the poems are in te reo Māori.
“We deliberately set out to write a bilingual book, and to be inclusive and encompassing,” Landers said. “We are satisfied we have achieved that to some degree, but providing a platform for the ‘manufacture’ of creative expression has been an unmitigated success.”
The book will be launched at the Hunter Shaw Building in Patea at 1pm on March 24. It is available on Amazon Australia for about $50 plus postage and handling.