Māori and Pasifika
The Institute of Modern Letters has a Māori and Pasifika Liaison staff member to ensure best interests of students are looked after.
Māori and Pasifika Student Liaison - Tina Makereti
Senior Lecturer
International Institute of Modern Letters
Nau mai, hāere mai ki Te Pūtahi Tuhi Auaha o Te Ao.
Talofa lava, Kia orana, Mālō e lelei, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Taloha ni, Ni sa bula, Kam na mauri, Halo olaketa, La orana, Tēnā koutou katoa.
Ko Te Ātiawa, Ko Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi ngā iwi
Ko Ngāti Te Whiti, Ko Ngāti Tawhirikura, Ko Ngāti Parekaawa ngā hapū
Ko Waikawa, Ko Kātere ki te Moana, Ko Poukura, Ko Te Hiiri ngā marae
He mokopuna o te whānau Skipper ahau. Ko Tina Makereti tōku ingoa.
A warm welcome to all students studying creative writing at the IIML - we aim to provide a warm, open, supportive and stimulating environment for you to explore your own creative writing practice. The ways students approach writing is endlessly diverse, and sometimes it's important to have readers and teachers with implicit understandings of the cultural foundations of your work. It's a common experience for writers to be uncertain about their cultural identity, and how culture affects their work, and it's common for understanding about such things to develop at the same time as writing skill develops. One of my jobs is to reassure you: we all face this, and there are no single or perfect answers. But many of us have been where you are now, and we can offer tautoko as you move through your own exploration. My role is to support Māori and Pasifika students enrolled in undergraduate or postgraduate study at the IIML. Please come and see me anytime, even if you are simply unsure. One of the great things about creative writing is that it's never about having all the answers - it's usually about asking lots of questions, and writing towards your uncertainty and not-knowing. So if that's the kind of relationship you have with personal or societal cultural questions in Aotearoa, you're probably in the right place!
Please come and see me, or phone or email if you have any questions regarding your study at the IIML. If you are looking at a Kelburn campus map we are next to the Recreation Centre.
For more general questions regarding enrolment, your degree programme, or scholarships, contact your Faculty office or the University's Scholarships Office.
Nō reira, kia kaha kia maia kia manawanui
Tina Makereti
Senior Lecturer, IIML
Te Hiringa a Tuhi: CREW 260 special topic – Māori and Pasifika creative writing workshop
This is a creative writing workshop focusing on Māori and Pasifika perspectives.
It is for students who wish to produce fiction, creative non-fiction or poetry which is informed by Māori or Pasifika perspectives, cultures and origins, the processes of colonisation, or questions of identity and belonging.
In addition, students with Māori / Pasifika heritage who wish to write literature that does not directly address these subjects will be welcome.
Read more about CREW 260 or find out how to apply.
A scholarship for MA students beginning their study
The Copyright Licensing New Zealand Master of Creative Writing Scholarship, worth $3500, is available to a student who is accepted into our MA programme. One scholarship will be awarded each year, funding-dependent. The recipient will be chosen based on the merits of the application but preference will be given to Māori and Pasifika applicants.
The application deadline is 1 November. Read more about this scholarship, which has been made possible through the generous support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand.
Māori and Pasifika students
Māori and Pasifika students have begun to organise ways of connecting and supporting each other. Each trimester we welcome new students with a mihi whakatau, and informal gatherings may occur throughout the year.
If you'd like to connect with other Māori and Pasifika students beyond your immediate workshop group, please contact Tina Makereti.
Other Māori and Pasifika student support services at university
There is a range of university services available to Māori and Pasifika students. Some of these include: