What gets excluded when we centre Shakespeare?
“When we position Shakespeare as essential, but treat Māori literature and oracy as enrichment, we reinforce colonial hierarchies.” — Tania Roxborogh.
Read More
Tag: English
Writing while colonised
“One of the pervasive myths about Māori people (which we have taken to enthusiastically telling ourselves) is that ‘we don’t write’ despite literally millions of pages filled with words penned (or typed) by our own people — by ourselves.” — Professor Alice Te Punga Somerville.
Read More
‘English has broken my heart’
“I lose faith in my discipline quite often. English has broken my own heart several times, and it has been used for generations to make our community feel small.” — Dr Alice Te Punga Somerville.
Read More
A Tongan without the tongue — a cautionary tale
“Rightly or wrongly, my father was trying to protect us from a world that treasured English above all else, that used English as a marker for intelligence.”
Read More
