Black Marks on the White Page

by Witi Ihimaera (Editor), Tina Makereti (Editor)

A stunning collection of Oceanic stories for the 21st century.

Stones move, whale bones rise out of the ground like cities, a man figures out how to raise seven daughters alone. Sometimes gods speak or we find ourselves in a not-too-distant future. Here are the glorious, painful, sharp and funny 21st century stories of Maori and Pasifika writers from all over the world. Vibrant, provocative and aesthetically exciting, these stories expand our sense of what is possible in Indigenous Oceanic writing.

Witi Ihimaera and Tina Makereti present the very best new and uncollected stories and novel excerpts, creating a talanoa, a conversation, where the stories do the talking. And because our commonalities are more stimulating than our differences, the anthology also includes guest work from an Aboriginal Australian writer, and several visual artists whose work speaks to similar kaupapa.

Join us as we deconstruct old theoretical maps and allow these fresh Black Marks on the White Page to expand our perception of the Pacific world.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Indigenous, Anthologies, Literary Fiction

Hardcover

Published July 3, 2017

About the author

Witi Ihimaera is a novelist and short story writer from New Zealand, perhaps the best-known Māori writer today. He is internationally famous for The Whale Rider.

Ihimaera lives in New Zealand and is of Māori descent and Anglo-Saxon descent through his father, Tom. He attended Church College of New Zealand in Temple View, Hamilton, New Zealand. He was the first Māori writer to publish both a novel and a book of short stories. He began to work as a diplomat at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973, and served at various diplomatic posts in Canberra, New York, and Washington, D.C. Ihimaera remained at the Ministry until 1989, although his time there was broken by several fellowships at the University of Otago in 1975 and Victoria University of Wellington in 1982 (where he graduated with a BA).[1] In 1990, he took up a position at the University of Auckland, where he became Professor, and Distinguished Creative Fellow in Māori Literature. He retired from this position in 2010.

In 2004, his nephew Gary Christie Lewis married Lady Davina Windsor, becoming the first Māori to marry into the British Royal Family.

Reviews

[JARROD WARD · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is as diverse as Oceania, with shallows for splashing around, deep waters for learning and growing, new languages that give words to ideas you don't have yet, slow attention body shapes that get ignored, and voices from writers that remind you why you love short stories, or convince you that now you are a fan.

Don't let the new vocabulary dissuade you from this taneloa. There are stories here you need to hear, characters you need to meet.

There are stories of queer brown-skinned teenagers trying to fit their bodies into Pakehā sized clothes as they try to fit their tangata whenua culture into Pakehā shaped societies.

There are characters who will make you dream of Mike Tyson.

There are father's raising children, aunties raising children.

There are dreams you haven't learned how to dream, stories you can connect with even if they strangeness is the only thing familiar.

Start with the dust jacket, take it of, really look at it. It's the best one I've ever seen. Left to right is creation, the void from before until now. Let it orient you, moving your polestar to the antipodes, away from your colonial salute to the Northern Hemisphere. We need you here, now.

Then take your time with this book. Island hop. This is the trip you have been waiting for. Maybe you already even had a little dream about it?

You're going somewhere you haven't been and when you get back you're going to recommend it to all your friends.

Arohanui

[Suzesmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF📱🌏OCEANIA 🌏In my efforts to move through the Pacific at a faster pace, I have started to seek out anthologies. I was very excited to find this one in Kindle, and the editors are brilliant. Bravo for putting together such a great range of contemporary indigenous voices from Oceania 👏🏼
🇼🇸Samoa: Albert Wendt
🇦🇺Australia: Alexis Wright
🇳🇿NZ: Anahera Gildea
🇳🇿NZ: Anya Ngwhare
🇺🇸Hawaii: Bryan Kamaoli Kuwada
🇳🇿NZ: Cassandra Barnett
🇳🇿NZ: Courtney Sina Meredith
🇳🇿NZ: David Geary
🇳🇨New Caladonia: Déwé Gorodé
🇳🇿NZ: Gina Cole
🇹🇴Tonga: Jione Havea
🇳🇿NZ: Kelly Ana Morey
🇳🇿NZ: Kelly Joseph
🇫🇯 Fiji: Mary Rokonadravu
🇺🇸Hawaii: Michael Puleloa
🇳🇿NZ: Nic Low
🇳🇿NZ: Patricia Grace
🇳🇿NZ: Paula Morris
🇳🇿NZ: Selina Tusitala Marsh
🇳🇿NZ: Serie Barford
🇼🇸 Samoa: Sia Figiel
🇳🇿NZ: Tina Makereti
🇳🇿NZ: Tusiata Avia
🇳🇿NZ: Victor Rodger
🇳🇿NZ: Witi Ihimaera

However, I have made the difficult decision to abandon this one. I feel I have done NZ enough for this trip, and none of the other countries represented were new to me on this trip either. Also, reading about contemporary issues of poverty, abuse and general social dislocation was getting me down. So, I am leaving this one here, for another time perhaps. I have a couple of other anthologies on order, which hopefully will be more diverse than this very NZ-dominant one. I wish I had found it at the start of my Pacific sojourn. 🌏📚🏝

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read some of these - had to return it to the library. It is a book I'd like to own and dip into now and then for a wide variety of writing styles, and admiration of writers I would not always have heard of without the help of Ihimaera's editing. Powerful for the most part.

[Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully produced hardcover book, stitched, with good quality paper and an eclectic mix of stories, prose, poetry and art by Māori, Pasifika and Aboriginal writers and artists.
It's a smorgasbord you can dip into and taste whatever takes your fancy. Some contributions I really liked, some I wasn't so fussed on, but together they provide a wide view of indigenous experience and perspective.
There's a great mix of contemporary and historical settings, real and supernatural, playful, experimental and more conventional narrative.
The story that really stood out and made me laugh out loud was a satirical piece called Rush, by Nic Low, about a mob in Melbourne from the Aboriginal Land Council who have acquired permission to mine for gold in the city at the site of a war memorial. Instead of companies mining on Aboriginal land and sacred sites, the shoe is now on the other foot and the whitefellas don't like it one bit.

[Narise Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this anthology up for a Pacific Literature course I took this semester. This is a beautiful collection that extends past imagined borders of the Pacific. While there were only a few stories that blew me away, there were several others that captured my attention. A thoroughly enjoyable read, it has compelled me to read more Pacific lit, especially work by Māori authors.

My Favourite Stories

Matariki All-Stars by Patricia Grace
Rush by Nic Lowe
White Elephant by Kelly Joseph
The Stone by Michael Puleloa
King of Bones and Hazy Homes by Anya Ngawhare

Other Great Reads

Black Ice by Gina Cole
Poor Man's Orange by Kelly Ana Morey
Whakapapa of a Wallpaper by Witi Ihimaera
Facebook Redux by Nic Lowe
Nafanua Unleashes by Albert Wendt

[Jon Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took quite a while to get through - some very confronting pieces in here. There are also some amusing, well written stories - such as Nic Low's satirical take on mining in treasured spaces.
The inclusion of artwork from indigenous artists is pleasing and the relationship between Lisa Reihana's work and Witi Ihimaera's piece form an interesting and moving conversation between the two mediums.
Some pieces fail to stand up to the high marks set by their companions in the book but overall a very well put together collection that suits coffee table as much as bookshelf.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the same review for nearly every anthology: I loved some pieces and struggled with others.  That's the joy in showcasing different voices and perspectives.  I rate this so highly because I found each voice interesting, and because we as readers need it to exist.  Pacific cultures are so often missing from conversations and awareness here, and without being at all an expert I find myself called on to provide basic knowledge.  I'm happy to have more literature to recommend and another way to learn while I'm so far away. 

[Kenne]

I read only "Cicada Cingulata: The Bird of Rehua" by Anahers Gildea.

I wanted to read this, wanted to try something different than an extended narrative but I don't think I'm in much of a reading mood. I may return to this book because I think it would be worth reading... But it's very much likey that I won't. I love adventure, action, and fantasy too much.

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of writing, I shall definitely be exploring some of these authors further. My particular highlights were:
Matakari All-Stars by Patricia Grace
Rush by Nic Low
Famished Eels by Mary Rokonadravu
After The Tsunami by Serie Bradford
The Stone by Michael Puleloa
Facebook Redux by Nic Low

[Peter Gerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collections of stories like this by different authors like these make me regret their lack of cohesion. Some jewels mixed with some experimental work that falls short.

[Charlotte Lee-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some five star stories and some less than that, but lots of interesting perspectives

[Sarah Molisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very varied writing styles from some fantastic authors. I enjoyed each story, some are true masterpieces.

[Elizabeth Horton]

A wide variety of stories, a couple of which I really enjoyed. Especially Rush by Nic Lowe.

[Fiona Ayerst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the short stories, easy to read bite sized chunks in the evening. Interesting stories.