Patricia Grace

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Patricia Grace

DCNZM QSO
Grace in 2016
Grace in 2016
BornPatricia Frances Gunson
(1937-08-17) 17 August 1937 (age 84)
Wellington, New Zealand
OccupationAuthor
GenreFiction, short stories, children's fiction
Spouse
Kerehi Waiariki Grace
​
​
(died 2013)​
Children7, including Kohai Grace

Patricia Frances Grace DCNZM QSO (née Gunson; born 17 August 1937) is a New Zealand Māori writer of novels, short stories, and children's books. She is a key figure in New Zealand literature and in Māori literature in English, and one of New Zealand's most celebrated authors. Her first published work, Waiariki (1975), was the first collection of short stories by a Māori woman writer. As of 2021, she has published seven novels, seven short story collections, several children's books and an autobiography. Her work is popular in New Zealand and internationally, and has been critically acclaimed.[1][2]

She has won a number of prestigious awards, including notably the 2008 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, honorary doctorates from Victoria University of Wellington and the World Indigenous Nations University, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon Award in 2005, and a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in 2006. She was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM) in 2007, for services to literature. Joy Harjo, who nominated Grace for the Neustadt Prize, has said of her writing: "Grace's stories make a shining and enduring place formed of the brilliant weave of Maori oral storytelling and contained within the shape of contemporary Western forms. We are welcomed in, and when we get up to leave, we have been well fed, we have made friends and family, and we are bound to understanding and knowledge of one another."[3]

Early life and career[]

Grace is of Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa and Te Āti Awa descent.[1] She was born on 17 August 1937 in Wellington, New Zealand. Her father was Māori and her mother was European and Irish Catholic.[4][5] On her father's side she is descended from politician Wi Parata.[6][7] She grew up in the suburb of Melrose, where her father had built the family home, and also spent time with her father's family at Hongoeka, on their ancestral land.[4][8] In 1944, when she was seven, her father enlisted in the Māori Battalion to fight in the Second World War.[9]

She attended St Anne's School in Wellington, where she later described experiencing racism: "I found that being different meant that I could be blamed – for a toy gun being stolen, for writing being chalked on a garage wall, for neighbourhood children swearing, for a grassy hillside being set alight".[4][8] Grace has said that as a child she did not learn to speak Māori, because it was only spoken at formal events such as tangi. She began to make efforts to learn as an adult, but found it difficult.[10] She subsquently attended St Mary's College, where she excelled at basketball,[4] and subsequently Wellington Teachers' Training College. It was not until she had left high school that she began to read works by New Zealand authors;[1][11] she said that until this time, "I didn't kind of know that a writer was something one could aspire to be and that was partly because I'd never read writing by New Zealand writers".[8] She began writing at age 25, while working full-time as a teacher in North Auckland.[1]

Her first published short story was "The Dream", in bilingual magazine Te Ao Hou / The New World in 1966.[12][13] In 1979, South Pacific Television produced a television version of this story for the show Pacific Viewpoint.[12] She also had early stories published in the New Zealand Listener.[1] She was subsequently approached by a publisher who asked that she work on a collection of short stories.[4] In 1974 she received the first Māori Purposes Fund Board grant for Māori writers.[12]

Literary career[]

1975–1990[]

Grace's first published book, Waiariki (1975), won the Hubert Church Memorial Award for Best First Book of Fiction, awarded by PEN NZ. It was the first collection of short stories to be published by a female Māori writer.[1] Her first novel, Mutuwhenua: The Moon Sleeps (1978), was about the relationship of a Māori woman and Pākehā man and their experiences of racial prejudice. It was inspired by the experiences of Grace's parents.[4] It was followed by her second collection of short stories The Dream Sleepers and Other Stories (1980).[1] In 1984 she collaborated with painter Robyn Kahukiwa to produce Wahine Toa, a book about women from Māori legends.[1] Although she continued working as a full-time teacher until 1985, her income in this period was supplemented by grants from the New Zealand Literary Fund in 1975 and 1983.[12][1]

In the early 1980s, Grace began writing for children, and sought to write books in which Māori children could see their own lives.[14][15] The Kuia and the Spider / Te Kuia me te Pungawerewere (1981), illustrated by Kahukiwa, told the story of a spinning contest between a kuia (elderly Māori woman) and a spider.[1][14] It was published in both English and Māori,[4] and won the Children's Picture Book of the Year Award at the New Zealand Government Publishing Awards.[1] Grace subsequently published Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street / Te Tuna Watakirihi me Nga Tamariki o te Tiriti o Toa (1984), also illustrated by Kahukiwa, The Trolley (1993), illustrated by , and several Māori language readers.[1] The Trolley received the Russell Clark Award for children's book illustration in 1994.[16]

In 1985, Grace received a writing fellowship at Victoria University of Wellington, which enabled her to give up teaching, become a full-time writer, and complete the novel Potiki (1986).[1][4] The plot of the novel featured a Māori community opposing the private development of their ancestral land.[4] It came third in the Wattie Book of the Year Awards in 1986,[17] and won the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction in 1987.[18] The novel has been translated into seven languages,[4] and in 1994 received the  [de] award in Germany.[1] Grace intentionally did not include a glossary for Māori language terms in the book, on the basis that she "didn't want the Māori language to be treated as a foreign language in its own country".[4] Although the novel was seen by some critics as political, Grace has said that she was endeavouring to write about "ordinary lives of ordinary people" and did not expect it to be seen as political.[10]

In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours, Grace was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for community service.[19] She also received Scholarships in Letters in 1988 and 1992–1993.[12] In 1989, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Literature (LitD) by Victoria University of Wellington.[20] In 1983 she was a founding member of Haeata, a Māori women artists' collective, through which she guided young Māori women artists and participated in group exhibitions such as "Karanga Karanga" (1986), which was the first exhibition of collaborative work by Māori women artists in a public museum.[21][22] In the late 1980s, she was a founding member of Te Hā, a collective of Māori writers.[12][23] Her third short story collection, Electric City and Other Stories was published in 1987.[1]

1990–2015[]

The quotation for Patricia Grace on the Wellington Writers Walk

Grace's third novel, Cousins, was published in 1992. It is the story of three cousins and features themes of whakapapa and family ties, as well as reflecting New Zealand's history.[24] Her fourth novel, Baby No-Eyes, followed in 1998, and weaves together family drama with modern Māori problems.[16] It was shortlisted for the prestigious Tasmania Pacific Region Prize.[12]

Her fifth novel Dogside Story (2001) won the 2001 Kiriyama Prize for Fiction, was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001 and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2003, and was shortlisted in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2002 and for the Tasmania Pacific Region Prize in 2004.[16][12] Her sixth novel, Tu (2004), was based on the experiences of the Māori Battalion in Italy during the Second World War, and in particular the experiences of Grace's father and other family members who were part of the Battalion.[16][9] The novel was awarded the Deutz Medal for Fiction and the Montana Award for Fiction at the 2005 Montana New Zealand Book Awards,[25] and the 2005 Nielsen Book Data New Zealand Booksellers' Choice Award.[16] In 2013 it was adapted for the theatre by New Zealand playwright Hone Kouka.[26]

After Tu, Grace published a collection of short stories in 2006 called Small Holes in the Silence. She was approached shortly after by the family of Ned Nathan, a Māori Battalion soldier who was wounded in Crete, and his wife Katina, a Cretan woman who nursed him back to health, and asked to write the story of their relationship. The resulting non-fiction biography, Ned & Katina: a true love story, was published in 2009.[27] At this time Grace put aside a draft novel in order to concentrate on family responsibilities, including caring for her mother and husband.[27]

In 2005 Grace received a prestigious Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, an award bestowed on twenty of New Zealand’s most significant living artists for extraordinary lifetime achievement.[28] In 2006, she was one of three honourees awarded a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, recognising her significant contribution to New Zealand's literature. Helen Clark, then the prime minister of New Zealand, said her work "played a key role in the emergence of Maori fiction in English".[16] Grace was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM), for services to literature, in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours.[29] In 2009, she declined redesignation as a Dame Companion following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government.[30] In 2008, Grace was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature.[16]

2015–present[]

Grace's seventh novel Chappy was published in 2015, and was a finalist in the fiction category at the 2016 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.[16][31] It topped New Zealand's bestseller list.[27] In a review of Chappy, Paula Morris described Grace as "a quiet and persistent presence in New Zealand literature, a groundbreaker who is, at the same time, old-fashioned in the calmness of her tone, the particularity of her focus, and her abiding interest in the particularities of Māori customs and stories".[32] In the same year she published children's picture book Haka, illustrated by . The book was translated into Maori as Whiti te Rā! by , and was the recipient of the Te Kura Pounamu Award for the best Māori language work at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2016.[16][33]

Grace received an honorary Doctorate of Letters (DLit) from the World Indigenous Nations University in 2016, conferred at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Ōtaki, for her literary accomplishments and her writing around Māori themes.[34] In July 2016 a sculpture in her honour was unveiled on the Porirua Writers' Walk, featuring a quote from Potiki.[35] In 2017 her children's book Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street was adapted for the stage by Tupe Lualua and performed by 70 students from Cannon’s Creek School at the Measina Festival, a showcase of Pasifika art and theatre.[36] In 2018, a bilingual edition of Wāhine Toa, translated by , was published by Te Tākupu (the publishing house of Te Wānanga o Raukawa).[37] In 2020, Potiki was republished in Britain by the Penguin Classics imprint.[11][38]

Her autobiography From the Centre: a writer's life was published by Penguin Books in May 2021.[39] In the same year, her novel Cousins (1992) was adapted into the feature film of the same name, directed by Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith.[16] Grace-Smith was previously married to Grace's son, and had attended the launch of the novel 19 years earlier at Takapūwāhia Marae.[24] In 2021, Grace was the chief judge for the Sargeson Prize (named after Frank Sargeson), New Zealand's most valuable short-story prize.[4][40]

Personal life[]

Grace was married to children's author Kerehi Waiariki Grace, whom she met at teacher's college.[4] They had seven children together, and he died in 2013.[41] Grace has described their marriage as one of shared contributions: "My husband and I worked together on everything that needed to be done. It wasn't as though I had to do the housework and look after the children, because we shared all this."[4] Her novel Chappy (2015) was dedicated to him.[32] Their daughter Kohai is an acclaimed weaver,[4] and their sons Wiremu and Himonia are filmmakers.[42][43][44]

Grace has been active in the community and voluntary work, including by managing iwi work schemes for unemployed people.[4] In 2014, she won a legal battle against the New Zealand government, which had tried to compulsorily acquire land at Hongoeka Bay under the Public Works Act in order to build an expressway.[4][11] The court decided that the land, which was the last remaining part of Wi Parata's landholdings held by his descendants, should be protected as a Māori reservation.[6][7][45] As of 2021 Grace still lives in Hongoeka on her ancestral land and close to her home marae.[46][4]

Works[]

Novels[]

  • Mutuwhenua: The Moon Sleeps (Longman Paul, 1978; Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1986; Women's Press Livewire, 1988; Cambridge University Press, 1991; French translation by  [fr], 2012).
  • Potiki (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd., 1986; Women's Press Ltd. [Great Britain], 1987; Finnish translation by Kaantopiiri Helsinki, 1990; German translation by Unionsverlag Zurich, 1993; French translation by Arléa, 1993; Dutch translation by De Geus, 1994; UHP Hawaii, 1995; Portuguese translation by Edições Duarte Reis, 2004, Italian translation by Joker, 2017).
  • Cousins (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1992; German translation by Unionsverlag Zurich, 1997).
  • Baby No-eyes (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1998; French translation by Au vent des îles, 2006).
  • Dogside Story (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 2001).
  • Tu (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 2004).
  • Chappy (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 2015; French translation by Au vent des îles, 2018).

Short-story collections[]

  • Waiariki (Longman Paul, 1975; Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1986).
  • The Dream Sleepers (Longman Paul, 1980; Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1986).
  • Electric City and Other Stories (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1987; French translation by Au vent des îles, 2006).
  • Selected Stories (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1991).
  • The Sky People (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1994; Women's Press Ltd. [Great Britain], 1995).
  • Collected Stories (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 2001).
  • Small Holes in the Silence (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd., 2006; French translation by Au vent des îles, 2014).

Children's books[]

  • The Kuia and the Spider / Te Kuia me te Pungawerewere (Kidsarus 2 / Longman Paul, 1981), illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa.
  • Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street / Te Tuna Watakirihi me Nga Tamariki o te Tiriti o Toa (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1984), illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa.
  • The Trolley (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1993), illustrated by Kerry Gemmill.
  • Areta & the Kahawai / Ko Areta me Nga Kahawai (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 1994), illustrated by Kerry Gemmill.
  • Maraea and the Albatrosses / Ko Maraea me Nga Toroa (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd, 2008), illustrated by Brian Gunson.
  • Haka / Whiti te Rā! (Huia Publishers, 2015), illustrated by Andrew Burdan and translated into Māori by Kawata Teepa.

Other[]

  • Wahine Toa (William Collins, 1984; Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd.; Viking Pacific, 1991; Te Tākupu, 2018), a book of paintings by Robyn Kahukiwa accompanied by Grace's text about women in Maori mythology, and translated into Māori for the 2018 edition by Hēni Jacob.
  • Earth, Sea, Sky: Images and Maori Proverbs from the Natural World of Aotearoa New Zealand (Huia Publishers, 2003), jointly with Kerehi Waiariki Grace, with photographs by Craig Potton.
  • Ned and Katina: a true love story (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd., 2009), a biography.
  • From the Centre: a writer's life (Penguin Books [NZ] Ltd., 2021), Grace's autobiography.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Robinson, Roger (2006). "Grace, Patricia". In Robinson, Roger; Wattie, Nelson (eds.). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195583489.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-1917-3519-6. OCLC 865265749. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  2. ^ Wevers, Lydia. "Fiction – Māori and Pacific writers and writing about Māori". Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  3. ^ Harjo, Joy (2009). "In Honor of Patricia Grace". World Literature Today. 83 (3): 35. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Catherall, Sarah (8 May 2021). "Patricia Grace turns her pen on herself". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  5. ^ Kuiper, Kathleen. "Patricia Grace". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Smale, Aaron (8 February 2017). "'Tangata whenua in this country have given enough'". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Writing great in court fight to stop highway". The New Zealand Herald. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Patricia Grace – From The Centre". Radio New Zealand. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Jacobs, Susan (1 November 2014). "Patricia Grace: Tu, a Novel". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Dudding, Adam (2016). "The Interview – Patricia Grace". Academy of New Zealand Literature. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c Graham-McLay, Charlotte (23 February 2020). "Patricia Grace's literary legacy: giving Māori characters their 'natural' voice". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Patricia Grace". Kōmako. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  13. ^ Grace, Patricia (June 1966). "The Dream". Te Ao Hou / The New World (55): 14. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Pollock, Kerryn. "Classics: The kuia and the spider (2nd of 3)". Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  15. ^ Grace, Patricia (30 April 2021). "'I never found myself in a book': Patricia Grace on the importance of Māori literature". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j "Grace, Patricia". Read NZ Te Pou Muramura. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Past Winners: 1986". New Zealand Book Awards. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Past Winners: 1987". New Zealand Book Awards. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  19. ^ "No. 51367". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 11 June 1988. p. 34.
  20. ^ "Honorary graduates and Hunter fellowships". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  21. ^ Kaa, Keri. "Haeata". New Zealand History. Women Together: a History of Women's Organisations in New Zealand. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Karanga Karanga". City Gallery Wellington – Te Whare Toi. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Patricia Grace". Te Hā Kaituhi Māori. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b McConnell, Glenn (21 February 2021). "Patricia Grace's novel, Cousins, finally makes it to the big screen". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Past Winners: 2005". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  26. ^ Patuwai, Tamati (21 July 2013). "Tu: Powerful Homage". Theatreview. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b c Jones, Lawrence (10 August 2015). "Cross-cultural family saga fulfils hopes". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Icon Award / Whakamana Hiranga". Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  29. ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2007". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  30. ^ Young, Audrey (14 August 2009). "Helen Clark loses: Ex-Labour MP takes title". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  31. ^ Black, Eleanor (7 March 2016). "New Zealand Book Awards: Witi Ihimaera, Patricia Grace among finalists". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b Morris, Paula (Spring 2015). "The place where stories begin". The New Zealand Review of Books (111). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  33. ^ "ANZAC Heroes by Maria Gill Wins Margaret Mahy Book of the Year – Winners Announced for the 2016 New Zealand Book Awards For Children And Young Adults". New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  34. ^ "Honorary doctorate recognises educational contribution to community". Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. December 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  35. ^ Donovan, Emile (3 July 2016). "Her place, her people: Porirua honours Patricia Grace". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  36. ^ "Measina Festival – Porirua's contemporary cultural treasure | Creative New Zealand". Creative New Zealand. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  37. ^ "Wāhine Toa republished by Te Tākupu – now bilingual". Te Wānanga o Raukawa. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  38. ^ "Potiki". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  39. ^ Grace, Patricia (2021). From the centre : a writer's life. Auckland. ISBN 978-0-14-377561-4. OCLC 1243624014.
  40. ^ "New Zealand's richest short story prize launches with acclaimed writer Patricia Grace as Chief Judge for 2021". University of Waikato. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  41. ^ "Writer dies". The Dominion Post. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  42. ^ Chumko, Andre (23 October 2020). "First Māori virtual reality film premieres at international festival". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  43. ^ "Himiona Grace". NZ On Screen – Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  44. ^ Cutting, Tony (19 March 2019). "Himiona Grace – Director, Writer, Photographer". Te Aka Kumara. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  45. ^ "Grace – Ngarara West A25B2A (2014) 317 Aotea MB 268 (317 AOT 268) [2014] NZMLC 25". NZLII. Māori Land Court of New Zealand. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  46. ^ "Patricia Grace – first novel in 10 years, 'Chappy'". Radio New Zealand. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2021.

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