Striding Both Worlds: Witi Ihimaera and New Zealand's Literary Traditions

Abstract

Witi Ihimaera has been a dominant force in New Zealand literature for four decades. In Striding Both Worlds Melissa Kennedy presents a study of the published works of Ihimaera and considers his place in the New Zealand literary landscape. The image evoked from the title, of Ihimaera with a foothold in both Maori and Pakeha literary traditions, immediately alerts the reader to a potentially broader reading of Ihimaera's work than may previously have been explored. Striding Both Worlds is a reworking of Kennedy's 2007 doctoral dissertation: 'Striding Both Worlds: Cross-Cultural Influence in the Work of Witi Ihimaera', a collaboration between Universite de Bourgogne, Dijion and the University of Canterbury, Christchurch.