Āria
Jessica Hinerangi
A first book of poetry and a Māori coming-of-age story.
Where is my tongue?
On display, a trophy of war.
Where is my tikanga?
Kept in the basement.
Where is my mana?
Locked in the museum.
And where are my whānau?
Scattered like dandelion seeds,
from the grating city,
to the harnessed horizon.
Drawing moko kauae on Barbies. Reading Ranginui Walker in rāhui. Spitting on the statue of Captain Cook. Āria is a first collection of poems by Jessica Hinerangi in which the author reconnects with her tūpuna and with te ao Māori.
He kākano ahau i ruia mai i Rangiātea
ā, ka tipu tonu.
Tihei, mauri ora!
Author
Jessica Hinerangi Thompson Carr is of Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāruahine, Ngāpuhi and Pākehā descent. Born in Ōtepoti, she has a degree in English and art history with a masters in Māori ekphrastic poetry. She is a poet, journalist and illustrator, working primarily on Instagram under the name @maori_mermaid. Her previous work has appeared in Landfall, Starling, The Big Idea and The Pantograph Punch.
Endorsements
‘This is a book full of aroha and manaaki for those who are travelling the pathways Jessica herself has struggled along – a love letter to those coming along after, and those walking alongside. To me, every single word of every single poem will be like a rongoā to its readers.’
— Hinemoana Baker