I’ve always loved stories. As a teenager I wrote stories, and in fifth form my English teacher sent one in to a Herald Tribune competition and I won! That lit the writing wick that smouldered away until the last few years, when I got serious about it. The journey has shown me that other writers are generous with their time and awhi [embrace]. I’ve had great help with improving my writing and heaps of encouragement.
You were the only Kiwi finalist for the Commonwealth Short Story prize in 2022 - how awesome was that?
I actually missed the email telling me I was the only NZ finalist! I found it a couple of weeks later and realised what a big deal it was. Then came the media interest and I thought, holy moly. It was fantastic validation. I’m really proud of the story Speaking in Tongues. There is quite a bit of me in that story. Language trauma is so widespread in Aotearoa. I’m just happy more and more people are learning te reo Māori and barriers are disappearing.
And you keep winning things! You won the Pikihuia award for Another Brown Face.
The inaugural Pikihuia Poetry award meant a lot to me. The poem is about my mum and how she met one of her best friends in the Waipukurau Hospital, which was a training hospital in the 1960s. Mum saw Aunty Lucy Wong across the green linoleum floor and they became besties. They recognised kindness and familiarity in each other, even though they’d never met before. That’s what a shared identity can do.
How does the process differ between writing for adults and children?
Writing kids’ books is so much fun! The sign posts have to be stronger because the child reader needs to understand what’s happening and when, where etc. They need to trust the writer, whereas for adults, you can push the boundaries a bit more and the writer needs to trust the adult reader that they can figure things out quickly and deeply.
What would you like the world to know about you and your work?
I’ve tried hard my whole life to help and empower people and my community, and I do as much as I can to improve social justice issues. A friend of mine called my writing “rongoa”, which is the te reo word for “healing” or “medicine”. I took that as a wonderful compliment.
I hope my stories help people feel an emotion or two and perhaps learn something about themselves and our world. One of the most amazing things I’ve been doing lately is answering emails from students and teachers at secondary schools who have been reading my stories and articles. The letters are very humbling and I’ve learned that words and stories are powerful connectors. I never thought my work would be taught in schools, but there you go.
Shelley Burne-Field will be launching Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie at Wardini Books Napier, 6pm, on Thursday May 9. Free event - all welcome.
