Annual WaiPRU Picturebook Seminar

Thursday 28 November, 8.30 - 3.45pm

The Annual Waikato Picturebook (WaiPRU) seminar is included in the ticket cost for all full conference attendees.

An option is available for attendees who only wish to register for the annual Picture Seminar component of the conference. Please look for the option to register for this event only, on the registration page. The cost will be $70.00 for a full day programme (morning tea, lunch and refreshments will be included).

A full programme will be available on the "Programme" tab of this website, closer to the date.

Keynote speaker 

Dr Te Raukura Roa

Iwi: Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura.

Mahi: Teaching Fellow at the University of Waikato, Te Pua Wānanga ki Te Ao

Director of Roa Limited.

Kia ora! Ko Te Raukura o Te Rangimarie Roa tōku ingoa. He kaiwhakaako reo Māori, he kai rangahau kaupapa Māori, he kaituhi pukapuka reo Māori ahau. Ko te pae tawhiti, kia manawa-roa ai te reo Māori i roto i ngā horopaki katoa o te ao. Ko te pae tata, kia kimi rongoa e manawa-ora ai te reo Māori i roto i ngā horopaki katoa o Aotearoa.

Keynote abstract

“Language is the house of being. Within its walls, human beings dwell. Those who think and create with words are the guardians of this home.” Martin Heidegger, 1949.

I love this quote by Martin Heidegger because it aligns with the proverb by King Tāwhiao,

“Māku anō hei hanga tōku nei whare. Ko ngā pou o roto, he māhoe, he patatē, ko te tāhūhū, he hīnau. I will build my own house. The pillars are made of māhoe, patatē, and the ridgepole of hīnau.”

Te Reo Māori is the house in which I dwell. Thinking and creating with te reo Māori does not just make me a guardian of this home, but in Tawhiao’s words, a carpenter for this home. The picture books I write, are all originally written in te reo Māori, with a strong focus on identity and connection to whenua and whakapapa. My intention with these picture books, in addition to expanding the corpus of te reo Māori literature, is to welcome people into the Māori world, and regarding te iwi Māori, this is more of a welcome home. The Aiare picture book series was written for my niece, Hinekorikori, and self-published by Roa Ltd with the support of Te Mātāwai. I deliberately use rhythm and rhyme to delight the senses making them enjoyable and memorable. Attending a book reading last year at a Kura, and hearing the kids singing the books before I’ve even opened the first page, was for me, the greatest acknowledgment of a job well done. In this keynote presentation, I shall with you the story of how I created these books.