Witi Ihimaera Smiler DCNZM QSM is a groundbreaking New Zealand author who was the first Māori writer to publish both a short story collection and a novel in English.
Born on 7 February 1944 in Gisborne, he is of Te Aitanga-ā-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, and Ngāti Porou descent. He began writing as a teenager to challenge the systemic omission and mischaracterisation of Māori people in literature. Over a multi-decade career, his extensive body of work has centralised Māori culture, values, and the complex relationship between Māori and Pākehā worlds.
Ihimaera publicly came out as gay in
1984. He has been vocal about how pre-colonial
Māori society was historically more inclusive of diverse sexualities and gender
roles before European and missionary contact.
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