“If you can’t understand this, maybe it’s not something you should be reading,” says 23-year-old author Matariki Bennett, issuing the challenge as te reo Māori is back in the spotlight with the removal of kupu Māori from education books. This move by the Government has only made rangatahi more determined to write in te reo Māori.
The Kupu Writers Retreat, held mid-August at Lake Ōkataina in Rotorua, brought together some of the country’s most celebrated authors at a time when Māori literature is on the rise.
The retreat came as te reo Māori was once again a political battleground. Education Minister Erica Stanford’s decision to limit Māori words in new reading books was widely criticised as a step backwards.
Despite the challenges, the mood at the retreat was one of hope. Spoken word poet Matariki Bennett sees it as part of a much longer struggle. “This is nothing new. This has been going on for 200 years,” says Bennett.
Rangatahi at the retreat shared the same determination. “How should our babies learn our words if those words aren’t in the books?” one participant asked.
Bennett’s debut poetry collection ‘e kō, nō hea koe’ was published this year. She first rose to prominence in 2020 when her group Ngā Hinepūkōrero went viral with a powerful spoken word performance about racism and colonisation. Two of the poems in her new book remain untranslated into English - an intentional wero to readers.
“That’s not to whakaiti anyone for not being able to speak te reo, it’s an encouragement. If you want to know what this says, you can use the resources around you,” says Bennett.
Huia Publishers founder Robyn Bargh said the growth of Māori literature in recent decades has been remarkable.
“In 1991, when I started Huia, there were a handful of Māori writers - Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera, Hone Tuwhare,” Bargh says.
“Now there are hundreds, and many of them are award-winning. Seeing Māori writers as finalists and winners at the Ockhams was unheard of in the 1990s.”
KUPU Festival is one of the first Māori writers’ festivals, and a retreat has been added as a new extension to the festival this year.
“Just the idea of a Māori Writers Festival back then was just a vague dream,” Bargh says.
The National Reading Survey 2025 showed adult reading rates are steady, but rangatahi are reading less and struggling with literacy.
Bargh believes Māori literature could be part of the solution.
“They (rangatahi) need to see themselves in the books. And when I say themselves, it’s not just themselves, but their whānau, their community, if they can recognise themselves, that is a good way to get them into reading and then writing,” says Bargh.
The one-day workshop at Ōkataina helped lay that foundation.
For Bennett, that was exactly the point.
“It’s vibrant, it’s beautiful, and it’s here. The future is here. Our rangatahi are unapologetic, strong in who they are. It’s so brave to tackle these issues head-on, and I just see more and more of it coming,” says Bennett.
Made with the support of Te Māngai Pāho and New Zealand On Air
