A special Oceania themed Literary Salon hosted by Damian Barr in the penthouse of New Zealand House to coincide with the major exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. Joining Damian for this special Salon are five leading voices from the Pacific...Māori writers Witi Ihimaera, Tina Makereti and Paula Morris and Pasifika poets David Egglegon and Karlo Mila, all of whom tell stunning Oceanic stories for the 21st century. Damian Barr, award-winning writer, journalist, presenter and salonnière is now an honorary New Zealander by virtue of the fact that on his most recent visit to the country he made headlines and engaged in friendly Twitter exchange with NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern*. *She expressed concern over his dislike of New Zealand cheese. More on the writers... Witi Ihimaera is one of New Zealand’s greatest modern writers; in 1974 he became the first Māori author to publish a novel, and four of his books including Whale Rider have been made into feature films. Tina Makereti’s latest novel The Imaginary Lives of James Pōneke tells the story of young Māori man who becomes a ‘living exhibit’ at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, in 1846. Paula Morris is the author of eight novels. Her most recent book False River is a collection of stories and essays around the subject of secret histories. David Eggleton, poet, writer, reviewer and editor published a new poetry collection Edgeland in 2018. He has won a number of awards including, uniquely among NZ poets, the London Time Out Street Entertainer of the Year (1985). Pasifika poet, Karlo Mila, who represented Tonga at the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, has a new poetry collection coming in 2019. Supported by Creative New Zealand with thanks to the New Zealand High Commission and Black Estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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