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Rangikura: Poems
A fiery second collection of poetry from the acclaimed Indigenous New Zealand writer that U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo calls, “One of the most startling and original poets of her generation.”
Tayi Tibble returns on the heels of an incendiary debut with a unique new collection. With wit, humor, and a deep understanding of our social and political environment, Tibble interrogates the boundaries between desire and love, and colonization and exploitation. At once a look back at coming-of-age and a painful elegy to the traumas faced by her Māori community, Rangikura’s intimacy will move readers to laughter and tears.
These poems draw on their ancestral roots to imagine the end of the world and a new day. They are both nostalgic for, and exhausted by, the pursuit of an endless summer. A profoundly original emotional vulnerability threads from each plain-spoken line. (“They saw things in me I wanted to see in myself / that’s why I let them see me that’s why I let them see me / on certain nights in certain lights when the planets / lined up like a string of pearls in the sky and the moon / was the correct hue.”) An electric, musical journey, Rangikura deftly explores popular culture, lockdowns, politics, toxic masculinity, girlhood, beauty, and loss. Through a stunning examination of her own pain and with the generational wisdom of her ancestors, this incandescent collection lays bare the darkness and hardship lurking underneath life’s ordinary surfaces.
Tayi Tibble returns on the heels of an incendiary debut with a unique new collection. With wit, humor, and a deep understanding of our social and political environment, Tibble interrogates the boundaries between desire and love, and colonization and exploitation. At once a look back at coming-of-age and a painful elegy to the traumas faced by her Māori community, Rangikura’s intimacy will move readers to laughter and tears.
These poems draw on their ancestral roots to imagine the end of the world and a new day. They are both nostalgic for, and exhausted by, the pursuit of an endless summer. A profoundly original emotional vulnerability threads from each plain-spoken line. (“They saw things in me I wanted to see in myself / that’s why I let them see me that’s why I let them see me / on certain nights in certain lights when the planets / lined up like a string of pearls in the sky and the moon / was the correct hue.”) An electric, musical journey, Rangikura deftly explores popular culture, lockdowns, politics, toxic masculinity, girlhood, beauty, and loss. Through a stunning examination of her own pain and with the generational wisdom of her ancestors, this incandescent collection lays bare the darkness and hardship lurking underneath life’s ordinary surfaces.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published June 10, 2021
About the author
Tayi Tibble
5 books90 followersTayi Tibble (Te Whānau ā Apanui/Ngāti Porou) is an indigenous writer and poet based in Te Whanganui a Tara, Aoteraroa. She was born in 1995. In 2017, she completed a Master's in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University of Wellington, where she was the recipient of the Adam Foundation Prize. She works in publicity at Te Herenga Waka University Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
March 8, 2026
If you handed me a little vial of liquid right now, and promised me it would transform me back to my 20s, I’d hand it back to you and ask you if you had something caffeinated instead.
I really, really wouldn’t want to be a young woman again. I don’t envy my teen-aged daughters the journey that is before them. I can’t even imagine navigating those waters, with the world what it is.
Who should pay the check, on that first date? (Is it okay to look away?)
If the woman earns less than the man, is it okay if she doesn’t pay at all?
Will women ever receive equal pay for the same work a man does?
Will it ever be okay for an unmarried woman to make public the fact that she enjoys sex, or will she always be considered a slut?
Can a woman dress the way she wants without being accused of encouraging rape?
This young poet, Tayi Tibble, who identifies as Māori and hails from New Zealand, asks many of these questions, in her own way.
In truth, I’m not really her target reader. Her verse is probably best experienced spoken, and I’m assuming that she is, primarily, a spoken word poet.
There’s a “rap” sort of quality to her work, and her titles read like this: “Lil Mermaidz,” “My Ancestors Ride wit Me,” “A Karakia 4 a Humble Skux.”
Get it? I’m probably just a little too middle-aged and white to be totally there with her, as a reader, but she’s a talented writer, and I can not help but relate to how she stumbles through her own sexuality and her confusion with what we define as “feminism.”
In one of her poems, “Lil Mermaidz,” I had my own come-to-Jesus, remembering something very specific from my childhood. As a girl, I could outrun all but one boy at my school, yet when we had an important track and field event at school, only boys were selected for the team, and there wasn’t a team for the girls. I remember thinking: I’m faster than all but one of you, and, what, I’m your cheerleader now?
Ms. Tibble had a similar experience. She and her friend were considered “the two strongest ‘girl swimmers’” at the school, but, instead of competing, they were asked to provide encouragement as “mermaids” instead:
But that was our job, to dive dumb
into the skin of the sea and throw
our heads full of good hair skywards,
saluting the sun.
For the love of God, this young woman is 20 years younger than I am, and girls like her are still dealing with this shit!
She wears white on whites with her tennis skirt, not the pumps that
lift her ass into a love heart.
I could relate to this one, too:
As a teenager,
a man whose opinion I truly trusted
said I was a dangerous girl
and this made me so afraid of myself.
I avoided being alone with her.
I never left her unattended.
I made sure she had someone
with her at all times.
Even if they belonged
to someone else, they were mine.
Tayi Tibble’s poems are filled with relatable themes, and it was refreshing to see the world’s tropes tackled by a younger woman.
I suspect that her “author photo” for this collection and some of her more sexual poems may fall, someday, into the “it seemed like a good idea at the time” category, but I think this poet has staying power and now that she has entered her 30s, I think she may very well grow into the type of writer who makes a powerful impact on our planet.
(My copy of this poetry was provided by our public library. It was published in 2021 and I was the first person to check it out. Have you ever considered supporting indigenous poets at your public library?)
I really, really wouldn’t want to be a young woman again. I don’t envy my teen-aged daughters the journey that is before them. I can’t even imagine navigating those waters, with the world what it is.
Who should pay the check, on that first date? (Is it okay to look away?)
If the woman earns less than the man, is it okay if she doesn’t pay at all?
Will women ever receive equal pay for the same work a man does?
Will it ever be okay for an unmarried woman to make public the fact that she enjoys sex, or will she always be considered a slut?
Can a woman dress the way she wants without being accused of encouraging rape?
This young poet, Tayi Tibble, who identifies as Māori and hails from New Zealand, asks many of these questions, in her own way.
In truth, I’m not really her target reader. Her verse is probably best experienced spoken, and I’m assuming that she is, primarily, a spoken word poet.
There’s a “rap” sort of quality to her work, and her titles read like this: “Lil Mermaidz,” “My Ancestors Ride wit Me,” “A Karakia 4 a Humble Skux.”
Get it? I’m probably just a little too middle-aged and white to be totally there with her, as a reader, but she’s a talented writer, and I can not help but relate to how she stumbles through her own sexuality and her confusion with what we define as “feminism.”
In one of her poems, “Lil Mermaidz,” I had my own come-to-Jesus, remembering something very specific from my childhood. As a girl, I could outrun all but one boy at my school, yet when we had an important track and field event at school, only boys were selected for the team, and there wasn’t a team for the girls. I remember thinking: I’m faster than all but one of you, and, what, I’m your cheerleader now?
Ms. Tibble had a similar experience. She and her friend were considered “the two strongest ‘girl swimmers’” at the school, but, instead of competing, they were asked to provide encouragement as “mermaids” instead:
But that was our job, to dive dumb
into the skin of the sea and throw
our heads full of good hair skywards,
saluting the sun.
For the love of God, this young woman is 20 years younger than I am, and girls like her are still dealing with this shit!
She wears white on whites with her tennis skirt, not the pumps that
lift her ass into a love heart.
I could relate to this one, too:
As a teenager,
a man whose opinion I truly trusted
said I was a dangerous girl
and this made me so afraid of myself.
I avoided being alone with her.
I never left her unattended.
I made sure she had someone
with her at all times.
Even if they belonged
to someone else, they were mine.
Tayi Tibble’s poems are filled with relatable themes, and it was refreshing to see the world’s tropes tackled by a younger woman.
I suspect that her “author photo” for this collection and some of her more sexual poems may fall, someday, into the “it seemed like a good idea at the time” category, but I think this poet has staying power and now that she has entered her 30s, I think she may very well grow into the type of writer who makes a powerful impact on our planet.
(My copy of this poetry was provided by our public library. It was published in 2021 and I was the first person to check it out. Have you ever considered supporting indigenous poets at your public library?)
June 26, 2021
"I am still a descendent of mountains / and they are still beautiful despite / everything they've entertained." Tayi's second collection is full of intermingled nostalgia and darker memories, shot through with lockdown restlessness and historical trauma, crafted by one of our great stylists. Even in its most uncomfortable and intense moments, she can still write a line or stanza that takes your breath away - especially in the double-punch of poems that close the collection. She's still growing and expanding everything that she and her poetry can do, and we're still watching the birth of a star.
June 18, 2024
READING VLOG
Major thanks to NetGalley and Victoria University Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts:
Homegurl is literally the next SZA. This is for my ABG bitches who wake up wake up gotta put on make up listening to Tinashe off a cracked iPhone, thinking about how much their ex pains them while working at your local boba joint with boys with nice cars whispering pretty little nothings all around you.
Lyrical at best, Tibble needs to quit playin and drop the mixtape already goddamn
Major thanks to NetGalley and Victoria University Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts:
Homegurl is literally the next SZA. This is for my ABG bitches who wake up wake up gotta put on make up listening to Tinashe off a cracked iPhone, thinking about how much their ex pains them while working at your local boba joint with boys with nice cars whispering pretty little nothings all around you.
Lyrical at best, Tibble needs to quit playin and drop the mixtape already goddamn
June 13, 2021
Tayi's got it
July 13, 2021
I said fuck I feel Māori when I'm swimming in a river!!!!!!!
November 3, 2025
Sealey Challenge 2025: 28/31
Tayi Tibble’s second collection traces her journey through the different phases of girlhood and womanhood, capturing moments of identity, heritage, and self-definition with striking honesty. I truly devoured this book as Tibble’s voice felt both intimate and resonant, even though our backgrounds vary drastically. There’s something universal in the way she writes about becoming a woman in a world that so often tries to shape or objectify us, and she meets that gaze with power and poetry.
Yet, what I loved most about this collection is how Tibble roots her story in her family and culture, using them as touchstones that guide the emotional through-line of her work. The poems feel like an act of reclamation both in their boldness and how personal they felt.
Also, I highly recommend the audiobook for this one. Tibble’s narration adds a rhythm and cadence that feels almost musical, like listening to a rap performance woven with poetry. narrations. I hope to one day add a physical copy to my shelves because this was just too good to not revisit!
Tayi Tibble’s second collection traces her journey through the different phases of girlhood and womanhood, capturing moments of identity, heritage, and self-definition with striking honesty. I truly devoured this book as Tibble’s voice felt both intimate and resonant, even though our backgrounds vary drastically. There’s something universal in the way she writes about becoming a woman in a world that so often tries to shape or objectify us, and she meets that gaze with power and poetry.
Yet, what I loved most about this collection is how Tibble roots her story in her family and culture, using them as touchstones that guide the emotional through-line of her work. The poems feel like an act of reclamation both in their boldness and how personal they felt.
Also, I highly recommend the audiobook for this one. Tibble’s narration adds a rhythm and cadence that feels almost musical, like listening to a rap performance woven with poetry. narrations. I hope to one day add a physical copy to my shelves because this was just too good to not revisit!
November 12, 2023
5 stars
I really love Tayi Tibble and felt that way before even cracking this collection. Since this is filled with one banger after another, I think she's even more fantastic now.
Tibble is particularly skilled at revealing culture, the joys and horrors of being a young woman, and specific (often cringe) moments. Anyone who's dated *that guy* in their early 20s will find aspects of this collection particularly resonant.
More to love about Tibble? The way her work is utterly compelling for my college literature students. I can't wait to infuse some of these works - along with others of hers already on my syllabus - in upcoming courses.
*Special thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I really love Tayi Tibble and felt that way before even cracking this collection. Since this is filled with one banger after another, I think she's even more fantastic now.
Tibble is particularly skilled at revealing culture, the joys and horrors of being a young woman, and specific (often cringe) moments. Anyone who's dated *that guy* in their early 20s will find aspects of this collection particularly resonant.
More to love about Tibble? The way her work is utterly compelling for my college literature students. I can't wait to infuse some of these works - along with others of hers already on my syllabus - in upcoming courses.
*Special thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
December 28, 2023
THIS WAS EVERYTHING and I'm so gracious to Knopf Books for granting me advanced digital access to this bright and shiny gem, before publication day (April 9, 2024).
Tayi Tibble has a way with words and in Rangikura, we read about the destination one MC goes on to explore and love oneself better and harder. We're there for scraped knees and drug-infused trips gone wrong, and the generational ancestral traumas that follow closely behind the racist Karens of their cut-out world.
This entire book was badass and heartfelt, and had me chuckling at the creativity of it all. I yearn to fill my head with more prose such as this.
Tayi Tibble has a way with words and in Rangikura, we read about the destination one MC goes on to explore and love oneself better and harder. We're there for scraped knees and drug-infused trips gone wrong, and the generational ancestral traumas that follow closely behind the racist Karens of their cut-out world.
This entire book was badass and heartfelt, and had me chuckling at the creativity of it all. I yearn to fill my head with more prose such as this.
February 4, 2023
Gifted this beautiful Baddie book by Milly (also a beautiful Baddie) for my bday last year and finally got around to reading it. Witty, brilliant, owies and munched in one sitting. Perfect mix of laughs, heartbreak and truth bombs!
December 18, 2023
Thank you to Net Galley and Knopf for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I very much enjoyed the author's collection of poems and this one didn't disappoint. The poems are powerful and filled with so much emotion. The poems are vivid and conjure the feeling of place, being in that moment. The poem ranges from the land/New Zealand, being Maori, politics, pop culture, life of the younger self, exploitation, beauty and loss. There is something magical about these poems of the everyday ordinary which couldn't further from the truth.
January 28, 2024
I’m not usually a poetry kind of person, but this was just beautiful. The familiar slang made me feel much more connected and I devoured this in one sitting. The cover art is also stunning (I will judge a book by its cover) which made me more inclined to jump into the poetry despite it not being really my thing. Leshgo Tayi
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April 19, 2024
A collection of poems focused on Tibboe’s Māori background, I thought the collection was beautiful, poignant and well written. There is a course grit to her sharp words that I connected with.
Thank you Knopf for the gifted copy to review.
Thank you Knopf for the gifted copy to review.
July 5, 2024
this collection was sooooo sexy
August 15, 2024
The east coast vibes <3
February 26, 2025
“And we all sighed and rolled our eyes
With the distinct feeling that life
Was suspiciously too predictable
And already we knew everything
That we would ever be doing.”
With the distinct feeling that life
Was suspiciously too predictable
And already we knew everything
That we would ever be doing.”
April 26, 2024
This is a stunning and whip-smart collection of poetry.
Thank you to Knopf for my copy.
Thank you to Knopf for my copy.
February 27, 2024
I read the ARC of this book through NetGalley and Knopf in exchange for an honest review.
I was drawn to this book because of the amazing artwork and description. Through her poetry, Tayi Tibble, brings the reader into her world and the world of her ancestors. It is a beautifully written book that I hope to share with my students and fellow teachers. I would encourage anyone who reads deeply personal poetry to pick up this book.
I was drawn to this book because of the amazing artwork and description. Through her poetry, Tayi Tibble, brings the reader into her world and the world of her ancestors. It is a beautifully written book that I hope to share with my students and fellow teachers. I would encourage anyone who reads deeply personal poetry to pick up this book.
February 16, 2026
5 stars
I am so happy to report that Rangikura is a fabulous sophomore collection from Tayi Tibble. This collection is broken into three parts. Part 1 explores the dangers Tibble faced as a child when not conforming to colonization, as well as the freedom of being a child and the fears that came with it. The second part follows a narrative poem broken up into 17 parts about being made little by a white man in your early twenties to be molded into colonization standards. Part 3 explores the beauty of embracing her Māori identity and refusing to be colonized as an adult woman. I loved this collection. I felt that it built upon her first collection, but it was stronger in taking narrative and stylistic chances. Tibble feels like she is more confident in her voice, and while she may be branded as a Gen Z poet, she shows that being a child born of the days of tumblr and Lana Del Rey can make for a poet who is not afraid of complexities in difficult themes (which we saw in her first collection) as well as bucking against colonization that exists within poetry spaces and the way that people read, approach, and discuss poetry. She is brilliant. Tayi Tibble, I adore you and will be reading everything this poet writes for what I hope is a career that rivals Joy Harjo (who shouts her out and endorses this collection highly).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2024 Review:
I will return to this one day. My ARC copy expired while I drowning in the workload I had for grad school this semester. Literally didn't open my Netgalley app to read 1 time at all once the semester started and so many of my poetry and graphic novel arcs expired. This cover is beautiful and I do want to return!
I am so happy to report that Rangikura is a fabulous sophomore collection from Tayi Tibble. This collection is broken into three parts. Part 1 explores the dangers Tibble faced as a child when not conforming to colonization, as well as the freedom of being a child and the fears that came with it. The second part follows a narrative poem broken up into 17 parts about being made little by a white man in your early twenties to be molded into colonization standards. Part 3 explores the beauty of embracing her Māori identity and refusing to be colonized as an adult woman. I loved this collection. I felt that it built upon her first collection, but it was stronger in taking narrative and stylistic chances. Tibble feels like she is more confident in her voice, and while she may be branded as a Gen Z poet, she shows that being a child born of the days of tumblr and Lana Del Rey can make for a poet who is not afraid of complexities in difficult themes (which we saw in her first collection) as well as bucking against colonization that exists within poetry spaces and the way that people read, approach, and discuss poetry. She is brilliant. Tayi Tibble, I adore you and will be reading everything this poet writes for what I hope is a career that rivals Joy Harjo (who shouts her out and endorses this collection highly).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2024 Review:
I will return to this one day. My ARC copy expired while I drowning in the workload I had for grad school this semester. Literally didn't open my Netgalley app to read 1 time at all once the semester started and so many of my poetry and graphic novel arcs expired. This cover is beautiful and I do want to return!
January 29, 2024
Unfortunately I didn't connect with this latest collection of poetry as much as I did the Indigenous New Zealand author's debut book. That said, the poem structures were very creative, had a strong voice and were sprinkled with colloquialisms that left me a bit puzzled. Personally this one wasn't for me but it was still a beautiful collection with a stunning cover to match! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
July 26, 2021
My ancestors ride wit me 😍
September 7, 2024
And i thought of Mary Magdalene, her beautiful hair
and how degraded she must have felt. Doesn't matter
that it was Jesus. All men think they're God's gift.
Equal parts funny, slutty and culturally relevant - she has such a strong voice that shines through in this poetry collection. And girl I just feel seen. Bumping that Nesian 101 and the other stuff too I guess. Tayi Tibble, Mana Wāhine.
Just like Papatūānuku
I breathe life
which is why my mother tongue
can still sing despite
its history of whippings
My favourite poems were Hot Hine Summer, Little, A Karakia for a humble Skux, and My Ancestors ride with me. I want to read her other collection because she is so real and I have also only looked my maunga in the eye once and slept under the ribs of my ancestors a couple of times. I love Tayi Tibble. I love my artsy Maori wāhine. Trust the girls to always serve. Hot Hine summer, imma start saying that now.
Half-caste daughters
of half-castes
about to fall into quarters
Cast out into cities
and universities...
Taking boyfriends
lie appointments with a doctor
A finger in the mouth and
wanting to say
ah or amen
or ugh, men
Thank you, she says, I like coconut. He grins and says, I thought you might. He is much more of a Milky bar anyway. But it is his joke, not hers.
March 23, 2024
A poetry collection for all of the girls raised on Lana Del Rey's Born To Die. Sneaking liquor from your family, smoking weed with your sorta boyfriend, and reflecting on all of it. I love the irreverence for the world here. But don't be mistaken, her reverence for her spiritual world and cultural history never misses. A good mix of poems and proems (prose poems). I would point out specific poems that I loved but once I dug into this collection each poem was a hit. I particularly enjoyed the way she approached shame.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for this e-arc. <3
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for this e-arc. <3
August 28, 2021
I don’t usually enjoy poetry but Audre Lorde tells me that is elitist of me. Anyway for most of the poetry I read it’s still a struggle. But not here because somehow this is transcendent.
“The world / is getting unbearably hot / but so am I”
Five stars, easily.
“The world / is getting unbearably hot / but so am I”
Five stars, easily.
May 5, 2024
I don’t read a ton of poetry but this was stunning.
It’s more contemporary, with modern references and pop culture mentions. They focus on growing up, womanhood and expectations, and culture.
I loved listening to this on audio, the author did a beautiful job reading her poetry, and it was a delight to listen to.
If you love poetry, or even if you don’t, I’d highly recommend giving this a listen!
Thank you @netgalley and @aaknopf for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
It’s more contemporary, with modern references and pop culture mentions. They focus on growing up, womanhood and expectations, and culture.
I loved listening to this on audio, the author did a beautiful job reading her poetry, and it was a delight to listen to.
If you love poetry, or even if you don’t, I’d highly recommend giving this a listen!
Thank you @netgalley and @aaknopf for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
October 14, 2024
What a moving set of writings! A look into a life I would never live and a glimpse into her soul. It took me a while to get through these as I was considering them along the way, but I appreciate the opportunity to take in these words and thoughts and feelings.
October 27, 2022
Cheeehoooooo.
January 26, 2023
Bit too faghag for me imo but you can't go wrong w a bit of Tayi Tibble. 4.5
June 26, 2024
the baddest bitch in the poetry game 🔥
September 11, 2024
Still too dumb to tell you why I loved this book of poetry!!!
October 7, 2024
3 out of 5 book for me ◡̈
Loved the Lilo and Stitch reference!
Loved the Lilo and Stitch reference!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews