Determinedly returning from the virtual quagmire of zoomed connections, Going West presents two lively in-person experiences during April: Shifted Ground, an intimate literary salon; and The Listening Sand, a unique outdoor environmental writing experience.
Shifted Ground is an intimate literary salon in the theatre of Lopdell House. You will hear new works from poetry stars Serie Barford and Michael Steven. Ockham Long Lister Lucy Mackintosh and Richard Shaw, in discussion with Tania Page and Pīta Turei, will explore the deeply contested narratives of Aotearoa, and author Paula Morris together with photographer Haru Sameshima will present an illustrated exploration of time, place and madness in Hyde’s two great prose works, Passport to Hell and Godwits Fly.
The event also doubles as the premier of Going West’s newly commissioned documentary short films Moving Portraits. Following the screenings, Directors Nahyeon Lee and Kathleen Winter and cast Nathan Joe and Freya Daly Sadgrove will discuss their experiences of working with Going West to create the moving portraits of storytellers in this fresh new format. These films arise from pandemic adaptation, a cultural motivator for Going West. We keep innovating and serving up enticing new ways for our audience to experience the many, rich and varied literary voices of Aotearoa.
The Listening Sand serves up real-time poetry creation on the iron sands of Piha. In a unique blend of environment art, film and contemporary literature, this consists of an outdoor workshop with award winning writer Anne Kennedy and environmental mark making with the talented David Hilliam/Beach Tagger. The event will be filmed by visual journalist Luke McPake. Get a taste of what’s in store on the day with the video created at last year’s event, Literal/Littoral.
Throughout the pandemic, Going West trumped its tradition of innovation to connect readers directly with writers through a super series of podcasts, a swathe of short films and a book. Yet live events are special, and our two April events promise the best in Going West’s tradition of intimacy, dynamism and friendly camaraderie, sharing ground-breaking conversations.
Shifted Ground, Saturday 9 April, 7pm, Lopdell House Theatre, Titirangi. Book at iTICKET.co.nz
The Listening Sand, Saturday 30 April, 2pm, North Piha Glade and Beach. Register info@goingwestfest.co.nz
None of these events are possible without the generous support of Creative New Zealand, The Trusts Community Foundation, Waitakere Ranges Local Board, Auckland Council, and AUT.
Artist bios
Serie Barford was born in Aotearoa to a German-Samoan mother and a Palagi father. She was the recipient of a 2018 Pasifika Residency at the Michael King Writers’ Centre and promoted her collections Tapa Talk and Entangled Islands at the 2019 International Arsenal Book Festival in Kiev. Her latest poetry collection, Sleeping With Stones, was launched during Matariki 2021.
Michael Steven is the author of the acclaimed Walking to Jutland Street and The Lifers, both published by Otago University Press. His accolades include the Todd New Writers Bursary and the 2021 Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award, of which the manuscript Night School will be published in April, 2021.
Lucy Mackintosh is Curator of History at Auckland War Memorial Museum/Tāmaki Paenga Hira and has written and researched extensively about heritage and culture for the last 25 years. Lucy’s book Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (published by Bridget Williams Books 2021) is based on her PhD thesis from the University of Auckland, which she completed from 2013 to 2018. The book examines deep histories, both natural and human, that havebeen woven together over hundreds of years in places across the city.
Richard Shaw lives in Papaioea / Palmerston North. He is a professor of politics at Massey University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, where he teaches courses in New Zealand politics and undertakes research on the roles of political advisers in government ministers’ offices. He is a regular contributor to The Conversation, and when he is not at work he and his partner Ema can generally be found wandering along the beach out at Te Whārangi / Foxton Beach.
Tania Page is of Ngati Kahu and Ngai Tahu descent. She joined Sunday as a reporter in 2018 after 13 years working for Al Jazeera network in London and Johannesburg. During that time she reported from the Arctic Circle to Afghanistan. Tania was part of an Emmy nominated team that covered the conflict between Russia and Georgia and she was a finalist for the Bayeux Calvados War Correspondent prize. In Aotearoa she prefers to cover stories close to her heart about inequality and injustice, hoping to shine a light on important social issues. She is the proud Mum to two young boys who are in kura kaupapa education and who constantly school her when it comes to the language she is also trying to reclaim, one passive sentence structure or stative verb at a time!
Pīta Turei (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Pāoa, Nga Rauru Kiitahi) comes from a background in dance and theatre. He produces and directs independent kaupapa Māori documentaries for television and film. Turei is known as a kawa advisor, storyteller and orator connecting a new generation with the ancient histories of Tāmaki Makaurau.
Paula Morris (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Whātua) is an award-winning fiction writer and essayist, the author of Shining Land: Looking for Robin Hyde (with photographer Haru Sameshima) and the co-editor, with Alison Wong, of A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa NZ (2021). She directs the Masters in Creative Writing programme at the University of Auckland and is the founder of both the Academy of New Zealand Literature (www.anzliterature.com) and Wharerangi, the Māori literature hub. She writes about Korean film and television at www.koreaseen.com.
Haruhiko Sameshima is a photographer, artist, image editor, publisher, and occasional writer on photography. Recent publishing projects include Shining Land: Looking for Robin Hyde (2020) with Paula Morris, editing Road People of Aotearoa: House Truck Journeys 1978-1984 by Paul C Gilbert (2021), and publishing Hinemihi: Te Hokinga – The Return (2020) by Hamish Coney and Dr Keri-Anne Wikitera with photographs of Mark Adams.
Anne Kennedy is a poet, fiction writer, screenplay editor and teacher. Recent books are The Sea Walks into a Wall and The Ice Shelf. Awards and fellowships include the Montana Book Award for Poetry, the University of Iowa International Writers’ Program, and the 2021 Prime Minister’s Award for Poetry. Anne has taught creative writing at the University of Hawai`i and at Manukau Institute of Technology. She lives in Tamaki Makaurau.
