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User:Chocmilk03/Vernice Wineera

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Vernice Wineera
Born1938 (age 85–86)
Wellington, New Zealand
OccupationPoet
EducationBrigham Young University–Hawaii (BA)
Children7


Vernice Wineera Pere (born 1938) is a New Zealand Hawaiian poet.

Wineera was born in Wellington in 1938.[1] She has Māori, English and French ancestors,[2]: 38  and is of Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Raukawa descent. Since 1960 she has lived in Lāʻie, Hawaii.[1] She holds a bachelor of arts in English from Brigham Young University–Hawaii.[3] She has seven children.[3]

In 1978 she was the first Māori woman to publish a book of poetry, with Mahanga: Pacific Poems.[2]: 37  Alice Te Punga Somerville describes it as "packed full of rich, lively, compelling poetry".[2]: 38 

In 1979 she edited the anthology Ka Poʻe o Laʻie.[2]: 38 

She has had poetry published in New Zealand literary magazines Te Ao Hou and Marae.[3][2]: 38  Her work was included in the anthology Into the World of Light edited by Witi Ihimaera and Don Long.[3]

In 1981 she won first prize in the poetry section of the South Pacific Festival of Arts literary competition.[3] At this time she was working as a cultural researcher and writer at the Polynesian Cultural Center.[3] She said of her art:[3]

My maoritanga and my Polynesian heritage is the vital element in my work. I see the Pacific as an extended marae that is rich in culture and I try to express this in poetry and art that reveals the universals in human experience.

Selected works

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  • Mahanga: Pacific Poems (poetry collection, 1978)
  • Editor of Ka Poʻe o Laʻie (anthology, 1979)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Vernice Wineera". Kōmako: A bibliography of Māori writing in English. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Te Punga Somerville, Alice (2012). Once Were Pacific: Māori Connections to Oceania. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9780816677566. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Vernice Wineera Pere Wins International Acclaim". Tu Tangata. 1 November 1981. p. 30. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
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Category:1938 births Category:Ngāti Toa people Category:Ngāti Raukawa people