2025-07-16
28 分钟The End Hello and welcome to Meet the Writers, I'm Georgina Godwin.
Today's episode comes to you from the Auckland Writers Festival,
where I'm joined by two remarkable creatives who are shaping not just the stories we tell,
but the platform where they're told.
They're Māori, their father and daughter,
and they're this year's guest co-curators of the festival itself,
responsible for crafting a powerful Māori strand that sits at the heart of the programme.
Their work spans poetry, film, fiction, television and more,
and their conversations is just as compelling as their art.
Welcome to Michael and Matariki Bennett.
Such a pleasure to have you both here.
Michael, I understand that storytelling runs deep in your family.
So what kind of stories were around you when you were growing up?
I mean, I know, for instance, your great-grandfather had a whole wonderful narrative.
My grandfather, actually, Maturki's great-grandfather.
So my grandfather was Frederick Augustus.
Bennett and he was the first Māori bishop of Aotearoa and he was an extraordinary man.
He was a bishop and he was a man who led religion but he was also very socially dynamic.
At a certain point in New Zealand history Māori were in dire straits after colonisation both in terms of us as a people losing our language,
losing our culture.