Tēnā rawa atu koe, thank you Jordan for an insightful reflective consideration of this collection. I have long admired Tina Makeriti and will continue to read her creative works.
I liked that you said this: 'a sprawling essay collection that’s far-reaching enough get a little messy and genuinely introspective.'
The commercial pressure on writers to reach a market and entertain the market is, well, commercial and commercial imperatives constrain free-range thought. The chickens can never come home to roost if they are confined in a battery shed with artificial light.
I, for one, (and I hope I'm one among many) demand that writers take risks; that they grope through the darkness rather than turning on the artificial light. I like the journey to reach the dawn. (As I write those wild geese are calling as they come down from the mountains, scraping their sound over the wetlands and up to the moon).
I will keep reading this author, just as I will keep reading your finely wrought reflections on Māori literature, a rich field of work.
Very well put, and I absolutely agree! So often my favourite books are imperfect, or don't entirely satisfy me in some way - simply because they're the ones I keep thinking about. They're also the best to write about, I think.
Very curious to see where Tina takes her work from here, especially coming off The Mires.
I haven't read this one, and didn't persevere with The Mires. However, in I've just read Lawrence Patchett's The Burning River 2019 which I was really impressed by. Have you reviewed it at all?
Have not read it, but it sounds interesting! I'm always interested in local speculative fiction, and this sounds like a good one. Will have to seek it out!
If you haven't read Elif Shafak I would recommend her too Jordan. 'There Are Rivers In The Sky' is her latest. Not speculative, but traverses history through a drop of water. I love her, I mean literally, I love her - her thoughts on writing, her thoughts on life, and of course, her writing. I wonder if the essence is essential to this, that the person, the writer is groping for meaning.
Tēnā rawa atu koe, thank you Jordan for an insightful reflective consideration of this collection. I have long admired Tina Makeriti and will continue to read her creative works.
I liked that you said this: 'a sprawling essay collection that’s far-reaching enough get a little messy and genuinely introspective.'
The commercial pressure on writers to reach a market and entertain the market is, well, commercial and commercial imperatives constrain free-range thought. The chickens can never come home to roost if they are confined in a battery shed with artificial light.
I, for one, (and I hope I'm one among many) demand that writers take risks; that they grope through the darkness rather than turning on the artificial light. I like the journey to reach the dawn. (As I write those wild geese are calling as they come down from the mountains, scraping their sound over the wetlands and up to the moon).
I will keep reading this author, just as I will keep reading your finely wrought reflections on Māori literature, a rich field of work.
Very well put, and I absolutely agree! So often my favourite books are imperfect, or don't entirely satisfy me in some way - simply because they're the ones I keep thinking about. They're also the best to write about, I think.
Very curious to see where Tina takes her work from here, especially coming off The Mires.
I haven't read this one, and didn't persevere with The Mires. However, in I've just read Lawrence Patchett's The Burning River 2019 which I was really impressed by. Have you reviewed it at all?
Have not read it, but it sounds interesting! I'm always interested in local speculative fiction, and this sounds like a good one. Will have to seek it out!
If you haven't read Elif Shafak I would recommend her too Jordan. 'There Are Rivers In The Sky' is her latest. Not speculative, but traverses history through a drop of water. I love her, I mean literally, I love her - her thoughts on writing, her thoughts on life, and of course, her writing. I wonder if the essence is essential to this, that the person, the writer is groping for meaning.
Love this description, and will be sure to add her to my to-read list!