Ted Dawe
Ted Dawe has written five novels, a collection of short stories and has contributed to a number of anthologies. He has won a number of awards (2004 NZ Post Best first book, Best YA Novel, 2013 Margaret Mahy Award). These awards have sometimes brought controversy, notably in 2014 when Into the river was first given an R14 restriction and then, after a prolonged dispute with the Review Board was briefly banned. This notoriety gave the novel a world-wide profile and as a result it is published in America by Polis books. When he is not writing or working at Taylors College he enjoys travel, speaking to groups and attending festivals. He is currently working on a historical novel set in 1971.
Genre:
Skills:
Branch:
Central Districts
Location:
New Plymouth
Publications:
Thunder Road
This is a coming of age story set in Auckland and concerned with all those things which are so important to young men (and often young women); cars, love, fighting, drugs, swearing, friendships, loyalty, sexuality and self-discovery.
K Road
This is a series of short stories all connected to people's lives in and around Karangahape Road ('the notorious sex street') in Auckland. The second half of the novel is a novella called 'All God's children' where all the characters from the early stories intersect with two teenage runaways.
And did those feet..
This is a children's novel about Sandy, who rapidly disintegrates into anger and violence when his mother dies . He is sent off to live in the country by his distraught father. Here he meets his uncle and learns to live a life based on principles derived from the writings of William Blake.
Into the River
This is a novel that explores the idea that we are shaped by the stories we are told as children. The main character, Te Arepa and his friend go off on an eel hunting expedition. They unwittingly choose a river that has a perpetual rahui placed upon it. During this hunt Te Arepa is nearly drowned by a giant eel and soon after aspects of his life begin to change rapidly. He wins a scholarship to a prestigious boys' school and in the process of receiving a 'first rate education' loses his connection with his people and culture.
Into the world
This novel continues the story of Te Arepa, now called Devon, after he is expelled from school and rapidly descends into a self-destructive spiral. The second half of the novel is about how he extricates himself from these circumstances and the novel ends where the events depicted in Thunder road begin.