17 April 2021 Who is Kim Jong Un? In The Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un, journalist Anna Fifield presents a captivating portrait of North Korea and its sometimes ridiculous, sometimes deadly leader. Featuring exclusive access to key figures in Kim Jong Un’s life, The Great Successor earned international acclaim for its insight into the world’s oddest and most isolated political regime. Anna Fifield has recently returned to New Zealand to take up the position of editor at the Dominion Post. Prior to that she was a foreign correspondent for twenty years, for both the Financial Times and the Washington Post, with postings across Asia and the Middle East. Don’t miss this fascinating event, where she will share stories and insights with fellow journalist Jo Malcolm.

Word Christchurch Festival

Anna Fifield: Finding Kim Jong Un

31 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival Christchurch has arguably undergone more change and upheaval than any other city in New Zealand this century. Just as rocky is the relationship between the city and its people. We ask five writers with connections to the city: How do you feel about Christchurch? Is your relationship to a place different when you are born here than when you choose it as your home? And can we speak honestly about the dark side as well as the light? What would you say if you could address the city directly? Writing letters to Ōtautahi are Nathan Joe, Juanita Hepi, Lil O’Brien who grew up here, and more recent arrivals Erik Kennedy and Behrouz Boochani. Hosted by Naomi van den Broek.

Letters To Ōtautahi

31 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival New Zealand women have published poetry for over 150 years. In her landmark book Wild Honey, poet Paula Green celebrates and makes connections between 201 of them, from emerging poets and those who are household names, who lived unconventional lives for their art and who gave a poetic voice to resistance, to those who have slipped from public view or were not paid the honour they were due in their lifetimes. Join us for a celebration of these amazing talented women, featuring three generations of poets who will each read from their own work and choose a poem from a woman who has inspired them. Featuring some of our greatest and freshest performers, this will be a moving, engaging and unforgettable festival event. Wild Honey celebrates the many ways in which poems by women deserve a place in the literary canon of Aotearoa. Featuring Jess Fiebig, Bernadette Hall, Cilla McQueen, Selina Tusiatala Marsh, Frankie McMillan and Freya Daly Sadgrove, with Morrin Rout. Unfortunately, Tusiata Avia is not able to appear at this event.

Wild Honey: A Celebration Of New Zealand Women's Poetry

1 November 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham is the only combat soldier ever to win the Victoria Cross twice. His acts of bravery in World War II meant he probably deserved six more. The mystery of how a reserved, modest, slightly-built farm valuer from New Zealand could be so ferocious and fearless in battle has intrigued and fascinated Tom Scott ever since he read about Charles Upham as a schoolboy. Searching for Charlie is Scott’s epic quest to unravel the ‘real’ Charles Upham. He talks with Christopher Moore about what he learned along the way.

Tom Scott: Searching For Charlie

1 November 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival Ralph Hotere was one of Aotearoa’s most significant artists. His life was just as remarkable as his art. Hotere invited the poet, novelist and biographer Vincent O’Sullivan to write his life story in 2005. Now, this book — the result of years of research and many conversations with Hotere and his fellow artists, collaborators, friends and family — provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of Hotere: the man, and the artist. Vincent O’Sullivan is joined by Bill Manhire, Cilla McQueen and Lisa Reihana to discuss the life and work of the man behind the iconic, stand-alone signature: HOTERE. Chaired by Sally Blundell.

Remembering Ralph Hotere

31 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival Through their own marks about the land and its people, be it in ink or paint, Grahame Sydney, Brian Turner and Owen Marshall offer a love song to the South Island, in particular Central Otago, in their new book Landmarks. Hear the stories behind the words and pictures, chaired by Fiona Farrell.

Landmarks: Sydney, Marshall, Turner

30 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival Ko Aotearoa Tātou | We Are New Zealand is bursting with new works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual art created in response to the editors’ questions: What is New Zealand now, in all its rich variety and contradiction, darkness and light? Who are New Zealanders? The starting point for the anthology was the statement by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after the March Christchurch attacks: ‘Because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those who share our values, refuge for those who need it…we will not, and cannot, be shaken by this attack.’ To celebrate the launch of this important book, published by Otago University Press, we welcome contributors reading from their work alongside special guests from 5pm to 6pm, followed by a reception from 6pm to 7pm. Featuring Dr Hanif Quazi, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, essa may ranapiri, Donna Miles-Mojab, Mohamed Hassan, David Gregory, E Wen Wong and more. Unfortunately, Tusiata Avia is not able to appear at the event.

Ko Aotearoa Tātou: We Are New Zealand

1 November 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival The ongoing containment of the coronavirus pandemic in Aotearoa has been in no small part due to the co-operation of what Jacinda Ardern affectionately calls our ‘team of five million’. It has been a triumph in communication, with clear messaging that New Zealanders have followed. An essential part of this effort is the work of Dr Siouxsie Wiles and cartoonist Toby Morris (The Spinoff), whose comics and animations have gone viral (excuse the pun) around the world. They discuss their strategy and challenges with Noelle McCarthy.

Going Viral

31 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival We bring together two young first generation Iranian New Zealanders to tell their extraordinary stories. In The Girl from Revolution Road, writer and filmmaker Ghazaleh Golbakhsh speaks powerfully of displacement and living between two worlds. Her essays range from a childhood in war-torn Iran, to learning English and making friends, to dating in the days of COVID-19. Know Your Place tells Golriz Ghahraman‘s story, with memories of life and resistance in post-revolutionary Iran to making a home in Aotearoa New Zealand; her work as a human rights lawyer, her United Nations missions, and how she became the first refugee to be elected to the New Zealand Parliament. Golbakhsh and Ghahraman appear in conversation with Donna Miles-Mojab to discuss breaking barriers, the daily challenges of prejudice that shape the lives of women and minorities, and finding a place to belong.

Finding A Place

31 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival The horrifying events of the March 15 terror attacks on two Christchurch mosques in 2019 must never be forgotten. Husna Ahmed was a victim of the shooting, killed while looking for her husband, who was in a wheelchair. In Husna’s Story, Farid Ahmed accounts his wife’s life, including a tragic account of the shootings. He also outlines his philosophy of forgiveness, which he has travelled the world to convey. His conversation with Raf Manji should not be missed by anyone who was affected by that terrible day in our city.

Farid Ahmed: Husna's Story

31 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival Not in Narrow Seas is a major contribution by economist Brian Easton to the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. It covers everything from the traditional gift-based Māori economy to the Ardern government’s attempt to deal with the economic challenges of global warming. It is also the first economic history to underline the central role of the environment, beginning with the geological formation of these islands. Easton talks with Geoffrey Rice.

Brian Easton: A History Of The New Zealand Economy

31 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival Becky Manawatu exploded onto the literary landscape last year with her book Auē, a story of broken family. Steve Braunias called it the best book of 2019: ‘a deep and powerful work, maybe even the most successfully achieved portrayal of underclass New Zealand life since Once Were Warriors.’ It went on win the 2020 Ockham awards for both best first novel and best novel. Don’t miss this exciting new writer in conversation with Emma Espiner.

Becky Manawatu: Auē

30 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival In her new memoir Bella, Annabel Langbein, New Zealand’s most popular cookbook author, writes about her remarkable life and how food has shaped it, highlighting some of the recipes that have resonated most strongly with her over the years. From her childhood fascination with cooking to a teenage flirtation as a Maoist hippie, to possum trapping and living off the land as a hunter and forager, to travelling and starting her own croissant business in Brazil, Annabel’s life has always been centred on food and nature. Out of this came an obsession with creating cookbooks, introducing a generation of cooks to her simple recipes for delicious, stylish meals. Don’t miss this intimate evening with a cooking legend. Annabel appears in conversation with Jo Malcolm.

Annabel Langbein: Bella

30 October 2020 | WORD Christchurch Spring Festival Poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright, and librettist, Vincent O’Sullivan is one of our most acclaimed and versatile writers. He was New Zealand’s Poet Laureate from 2013 to 2015 and, in Kirsty Gunn’s words, ‘continues to have a prominent ongoing role in the public literary life of this country, helping us to press at our boundaries, see the close at hand as well as further horizons’. With a rich and rewarding recent novel (All This By Chance) and a volume of selected short stories, as well as a biography of Ralph Hotere and a forthcoming poetry collection, there will be much to talk about with chair Paul Millar.

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Word Christchurch Festival

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