Two publications involving Te Tumu staff feature in the “Te Reo Māori” section of this year’s Ngā Kupu Ora Aotearoa Māori Book Awards, an annual event that has been honouring excellence in Māori writing since 2009. The 2015 event will be held on Thursday evening, 10 September at Te Marae, Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, with 15 finalists competing in 6 categories.
Rawinia Higgins, Poia Rewi and Vincent Olsen-Reeder, The value of the Māori Language: Te Hua o te Reo Māori (Wellington: Huia, 2014). Associate Professor Poia Rewi is currently the Dean of Te Tumu and Professor Rawinia Higgins, a former Te Tumu staff member (now the Head of Te Kawa a Māui, Victoria University), co-edited this volume and co-wrote a chapter on their ZePA model for language revitalization. Also featured are chapters from former Te Tumu staff member, Hana O’Regan, and Katharina Ruckstuhl, a former Te Tumu student and Senior Research Analyst at the Research and Enterprise Office of the University of Otago.
Merata Kawharu, Maranga mai! Te Reo and marae in crisis? (Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2014). Associate Professor Merata Kawharu, an adjunct member of Te Tumu, edited this collection from a number of eminent scholars on the state of te reo Māori and the participation of Māori in marae activities.
We wish both Merata and Poia the best of luck in these Awards.
