Tūwhare, Hone (1922-2008), a New Zealand writer, was the first Māori to win prominence as a poet. Tūwhare’s poems mix elements of traditional Māori literature with modern European styles. He wrote about the damage modern technology and urbanization inflicted on the traditional Māori way of life. Tūwhare came from a working-class background, which influenced his writing and his often left-wing political views.
Tūwhare was born on Oct. 21, 1922, in Kaikohe on the North Island of New Zealand. He attended technical college from 1939 to 1941 and then worked as a boilermaker and welder. Tūwhare worked in the naval dockyard in Devonport, Auckland, and on hydroelectric power projects on the Waikato and Rangitaiki rivers. He completed his first volume of poems, No Ordinary Sun, in 1964. His other collections include Come Rain Hail (1970), Sapwood and Milk (1972), and Something Nothing (1973). He also wrote Making a Fist of It: Poems and Short Stories (1978) and Deep River Talk: Collected Poems (1993). Tūwhare died on Jan. 16, 2008.
