Witi (Tame) Ihimaera (1944-) Biography

Born 1944, in Gisborn 1970; Ethnicity: "Maori." Education: Attended University of Auckland, 1962-66; Victoria University of Wellington, B.A., 1970.

Author. Post Office, Headquarters, Wellington, New Zealand, postman, 1969-72; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wellington, New Zealand, diplomatic officer and writer, 1973-89; Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand, lecturer in the English department, 1990—. Member of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand.

International PEN, Maori Writers and Artists Society of New Zealand.

Wattie Award, 1974, for Tangi, and 1986, for The Matriarch; Burns Fellow at University of Otago, 1975; Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellow, 1993.

EDITOR

(With D. S. Long) Into the World of Light (collection of contemporary Maori writing), Heinemann (Exeter, NH), 1982.

Te Ao Marama: Contemporary Maori Writing, five volumes, Reed Books (Auckland, New Zealand), 1992-96.

Vision Aotearoa: Kaupapa New Zealand, Bridget Williams (Wellington, New Zealand), 1994.

(Coeditor) Mataora: The Living Face: Contemporary Maori Art, D. Bateman (Auckland, New Zealand), 1996.

Growing Up Maori, Tandem Press (Auckland, New Zealand), 1998.

Where's Waari? A History of the Maori through the Short Story, Reed (Auckland, New Zealand), 2000.

(With Ngarino Ellis) Te Ata: Maori Art from the East Coast, New Zealand, Reed (Auckland, New Zealand), 2002.

Auckland: The City in Literature, Exisle (Auckland, New Zealand), 2003.

"Big Brother, Little Sister" was adapted to video by Aardvark Films (New Zealand), 1976; "Truth of the Matter" was adapted to video as Against the Lights by Sam Pillsbury Film Productions (New Zealand), 1980; The Whale Rider was made into a motion picture of the same name, written and directed by Niki Caro, by South Pacific Pictures (Auckland, New Zealand), 2002.