Hard by the Cloud House
The legend of Te Hokioi, the extinct giant eagle of New Zealand, leads Peter Walker from a Canterbury sheep run to the Rare Books Room of the British Library and to ‘sacred’ Raiatea in Polynesia, as he uncovers the story of the predator which once ruled over the Southern Alps.
Was this bird, whose existence was confirmed by scientists only in 2009, the Rukh of Arab legends? Does that mean that medieval Islamic mariners were once blown far into the Pacific, saw the great raptor and made it back home to tell the tale?
From the calamitous encounter of South Island Māori with colonisation to the glories of tenth-century Baghdad, Hard by the Cloud House is a heady mix of history, memoir, science and mythology.
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About the author
Peter Walker began his writing career as a journalist and is the author of the acclaimed memoir The Fox Boy.
Katūīvei Contemporary Pasifika poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand
To write poetry in New Zealand as a Pacific migrant is an act of wayfinding, a creative process of discovery and negotiation between cultural spaces. This collection of 137 poems by 89 Aotearoa-based Pacific poets explores that navigation.
This significant collection ranges from long-established voices such as Albert Wendt, Selina Tusitala Marsh and David Eggleton and the powerful newer voices of poets such as Tusiata Avia, Courtney Sina Meredith, Karlo Mila and Grace Iwashita-Taylor to new and emerging voices. Deep and rich, like Moana Oceania itself, it shows Pasifika poetry to be in a constant state of ‘old and new’, of haharagi and lelea‘ mafua, a lively and evolving continuum.
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About the editors
David Eggleton is a poet and writer of Rotuman, Tongan and Pākehā heritage.
Vaughan Rapatahana (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Te Whiti) is a poet, novelist, writer and anthologist.
Mere Taito is a poetry, flash fiction and short story writer and scholar of Rotuman heritage who is based in Kirikiriroa Hamilton.
Enter to win
Massey University Press is giving away a copy of these two books to the alumni whānau. To go into the draw, please email us your name, address, and the book title you’re interested in by Sunday, May 26 at 11.59pm. This offer is limited to readers of our newsletter with New Zealand addresses. A condition of entry is we will publish the winners’ names on our social media pages and/or in our next newsletter.
You can check out the Press’ other terrific books at www.masseypress.ac.nz.
We’re thrilled to announce that Karen Shepherd and Johanna Metcalfe are the lucky winners of our February newsletter’s book giveaways. A big thank you to everyone who participated. Stay tuned for more exciting giveaways in our newsletters.