He kupu nā te māia

About the Author

He toikupu, he kaiwhakatūtū hoki a Dr Maya Angelou—ko ana kupu tana rākau, ko te kaikiri, ko te kūare me te ahikauri ana tino hoariri. Ko te tino rongonui pea o ana tuhinga, ko I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), he pukapuka haukiri i kōrerotia rā tōna anō whanaketanga, tae atu ki te pāngia ōna e te kaikiri, e te tūkino, me tana whai ki te whakatinana i tana mana motuhake. E hia kē nei ngā tohu i whakawhiwhia ai ki a Angelou i te wā i a ia, tae atu ki te Presidential Medal of Freedom i te tau 2010, me te BET Honors Award for Literary Arts i te tau 2012. He rite tonu tana tuhi kōrero mō te kaikiri, mō te tohe, mō te whai ora, mō ngā wheako hoki o te wahine me te kirimangu, mā roto i tōna reo ahurei, i ōna whakaaro atamai, me tana tohungatanga ki te tuitui i te whakatuma me te whakatoi, i te aroha me te riri. Nō te tau 1928 whānau mai ai te manu whati māhanga nei, ā, nō te tau 2014 rere atu ai ki tua o te ārai.

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) was an iconic American author, poet and civil-rights activist known for her profound literary contributions and influential advocacy. As well as her acclaimed autobiographies, she wrote several volumes of poetry including On the Pulse of the Morning for the inauguration of President Clinton. She held a life-time appointment as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Her enduring legacy continues to inspire generations, reflecting her commitment to social justice, artistic expression and the power of the human spirit.

E toru tekau mā whā ngā wāhine i hiki rā i te mānuka nā te pouwahine o Te Panekiretanga, nā Pānia Papa i whakatakoto, kia tū hei kaiwhakamāori mō tēnei kaupapa. I te pukapuka nei rangona ai ko te reo o tēnei tira wāhine Māori, me ōna kanorautanga. Me pēwhea e kore ai—nō ngā pito katoa o te motu te tira nei, mai i te Ara a Kewa, tae atu rā ki te raki, ki te Hiku o Te Ika. Kuia mai, māmā mai, rangatahi mai, teina mai, tuakana mai, katoa ngā Ika a Whiro nei nō ngā rangapū ngahuru mā whā o te whare o reo kia tika, kia rere, kia Māori. Ko ētahi he pouako, he kaitito, he kaimahi kāwanatanga, he kaipakihi, he toki hākinakina, he ringa toi, he kaihaka, he kaipāpāho, he rōia, he kaiwhakatere waka. Heoi anō, ko te katoa he aroha nui ki te reo Māori, ā, kua whakapeto ngoi, kua whakaheke werawera i roto i ngā tau ki te whakapakari i ō rātou reo, e tū ai rātou hei tuarā mō tēnei reo puiaki nei i roto i ā rātou mahi katoa, i roto hoki i ō rātou kāinga.

Kei ōku tuākana o Te Panekiretanga, mō koutou i whakaatu i te rerehua me te motuhaketanga o tō tātou reo ki te ao, e kore e mutu ngā mihi.

From 2004–2019, Sir Tīmoti Kāretu, Dr Wharehuia Milroy and Sir Pou Temara selected cohorts of fluent speakers from around the motu to take part in Te Panekiretanga o te Reo – an intensive series of wānanga delivered through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, with excellence in language and cultural practices at its heart. In this volume a group of Ika a Whiro wāhine – female graduates of Te Panekiretanga o te Reo – rise to the challenge of breathing te reo Māori into a selection of key poems by Maya Angelou.

Pānia Papa ONZM (Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta) is one of Aotearoa’s leading translators, broadcasters and teachers of te reo Māori. She is the Pou Reo of Kotahi Rau Pukapuka and oversees a pool of certified Māori language translators and editors enlisted to assist in the publication of 100 books in te reo Māori. Pānia’s career over the past three decades has included roles as a television presenter and producer, language consultant, language teacher, curriculum and resource developer, kapa haka tutor and leader, translator, and language strategy and education programme reviewer. She was also a member of the independent panel that reviewed the government’s Māori language strategy and the Māori language sector, as well as the ensuing independent statutory board established in response to that review. Pānia was a teacher within Te Panekiretanga o te Reo and is one of three teachers of Te Tohu Paerua o Te Reo Kairangi – Master of Māori Language Excellence at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Dr Karena Kelly (Ngāti Hine) is a specialist in Māori language and linguistics – teaching into a variety of Māori language fora, including regional and national kura reo, and providing strategic and linguistic advice to organisations throughout New Zealand. Until recently Karena lectured at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, her alma mater, where she graduated with a PhD in 2015. She is also a graduate of Te Panekiretanga o te Reo and a Toi Reo Māori licensed translator. Her literary translation portfolio is diverse, including the works of Homer and Apollinaire, Katherine Mansfield and Julia Donaldson. She is the translator of Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go! as Nōu te Ao, e Hika, e! for Kotahi Rau Pukapuka / Auckland University Press.

Charisma Rangipunga (Ngāi Tahu, Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Kahungunu, Taranaki) is the managing director of Naia Limited and a graduate of the first intake of Te Panekiretanga o te Reo. She is co-author of twenty adult and children’s books including Kura Kaumātua He Hokika Mahara, a collection of memoirs honouring Canterbury kaumātua. Charisma has held the roles of Chief Values Officer at Ngāi Tahu Holdings and General Manager – Iwi Strategy & Iwi Engagement and Identity at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, and is currently the deputy chair of Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission). Charisma’s passion for creative expression through te reo Māori continues to contribute to the pool of Māori language publications in Aotearoa.