The short of it ... (1)
I‘ve come to realise that I like short things; short fiction, short films and short poems. I have a busy lifestyle; I’m one of those people that jam events and projects into any spare time I have. For my next three blogs I’m going to be looking at contemporary short pieces, and by contemporary I mean ‘what’s on today’ or at least this week, by Māori artists.
A busy life style often means doing a lot of squeezing-in with no time to indulge in hours of leisurely reading. I do, however, have time to read short stories. I can read a complete story from home to work on the bus in the mornings, during my lunch hour, sometimes during lectures and presentations (behind the mask of a laptop), in the bath, and right before I fall asleep at night. Because of their length I often think that short stories are undervalued.
I recently read the winning entry for the Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers short story written in English by Tina Makereti called, ‘Skin and Bones.’ This story was a well crafted retelling of a creation story. Admittedly, if I had realised that the piece was (yet another) creation story about Tāne Mahuta, I would have been a little more sceptical about the substance of the content. But as it was, I was quickly drawn into the lines,
‘He went about the place tilling and planting and from time to time felt an urge. He’d look down and see his own weighty erection and think What am I suppose to do with this?’
With such a good hook, I carried on to see where this piece would lead and ended up really enjoying the story.
One story in the Huia Short Stories 8 (2009) book that really left me thinking was ‘School Bells’ by Whai Conroy about a young man’s experience at boarding school. If you’ve ever been to boarding school; boys, girls or co-ed, you’ll connect to Conroy’s portrayal straight away whether having experienced the misdemeanours of boarding schools or not. The story was sad, blunt and confronting and I was slightly taken aback by the language used, but that was only because I had forgotten how coarse adolescent language can be when there are no adults around. I was fascinated by ‘School Bells’, but also a little reluctant about delving too deep into my own boarding school memories.
Often I hear, ‘I don’t get it’ or ‘that’s not an ending’ after convincing friends and family to read a short story. But isn’t that the point … it’s not a novel so there doesn’t have to be a start, middle and ending. Short stories can show you a snippet of life, tell a favourite yarn, make you think, share an experience or retell a myth. There are no set rules or structures for a short story other than to be read. I believe that to really enjoy and appreciate short stories you have to read them often. Titles that have come out in recent years by Māori writers are:
• Huia Short Stories 8 (2009)
• He Iti, He Taonga: Taranaki Māori Women Speak (2008)
• Paula Morris, Forbidden Cities (2008)
• Alice Tawhai, Luminous (2007)
• Patricia Grace, Small Holes in the Silence (2006)
And these are just the collections of short stories I know of, not including those stories that have been published in magazines, journals or passed around the kitchen table. If you know of any contemporary collections of short fiction by Māori writers published in the past five years or so, be sure to let me know.
Next blog: the short film. Head along to the Paramount Theatre if you’re in Wellington or visit http://www.showmeshorts.co.nz/ for screenings near you of contemporary short films as part of the Show Me Shorts Film Festival.
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