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In confidence, a letter
This post is about trauma, so it might not be for everyone. I've kept it to paid subscribers, whom I know to be a bunch of good souls. It's strictly confidential, so grateful if you don't share.
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Haere rā, Keri Hulme
Always loved the story of Keri Hulme. She was the most badass of the underdogs, icon to any writer - or anyone at all - who wasn't believed in, not even by themselves. I loved that The Bone People was picked up by a tiny feminist publisher, after
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Thought for the day, 27 December 2021
The news just reminded me of something good that happened this year: complaints about te reo are no longer accepted by the BSA. Because they're BS, eh?
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Better late than never
I've been doing a lot of complaining about 2021. It's kind of funny, because last year I gave complaining everything I had, and I really thought I had nothing left to give. Turns out 2020 was just a training ground. I was only warming up. In
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A Christmas miracle with a bad photo
Meet this guy. He’s kind of chubby, vibrantly orange, and has a constant puzzled look on his face. I don’t even know his name - but he’s one half of the best Christmas present ever. If you follow The End is Naenae, you’ll know we lost
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Separation
Aotearoa has lost our first child to COVID. We do not know about this little one, except for the sparse demographics of the media: that he was a boy, aged under ten, and Māori. We do know, although the news didn't tell us, that when a child dies
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All you have to do is ask
I once got suckered by a fake website. The content made me angry - probably the exact intent of the website's creator - so I posted about it on Facebook. Someone then pointed out to me, gently and tactfully, that the website wasn't real. Once I&
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Tāmaki Makaurau, you're a bloody legend
Tomorrow's the day. I can't think of an ethically trickier decision than the ones our leaders have just made. I can't imagine what it is to weigh up the community that's scared for its kaumatua against the kids failing school, against the
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I just want you to ask, what kind of people would do this?
When I first started writing about this stuff, I was warned. That sounds histrionic; cloak and dagger, even. But I took it seriously. The warnings came from people with first hand experience. Sure enough, I soon understood why. One person had made a pro-trans comment under one of my posts.
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If you're at a loose end this Monday evening
We were watching telly on the couch. E, then a young teenager, told me he was non-binary. There wasn't much to be said except 'I love you', or much to be done except hug. And then we kept watching the telly, my arm around him. I&
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Locker room talk
It's a universal law. Whenever some bloke says something crass, gross or sexist, another will rush to downplay it as 'locker room talk'. In the past, it's been Trump. Yesterday it was Barry Soper. It's kind of weird, invoking locker rooms. The
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In the sordid tango that is Collins vs Bridges, this is the misstep I can't forgive
Here's what's bothering me. Simon Bridges did something inappropriate at a function five years ago. There were consequences. I don't know what Bridges said, and I'm not defending him. I don't know if it was bad enough to deserve being