Emare/Emily Karaka

Ngāti Whātua, Tainui

1952 -



Emare Karaka was born and raised in Auckland and was educated at Auckland Girls’ Grammar. Alongside her writing of poetry, short stories and non-fiction articles, Karaka is recognised for her significant contribution to contemporary Māori art. She has been artist in residence with Norman Te Whata Lemon at the Sargeant Gallery in Wanganui. In 1992 she returned to live in Auckland, N.Z.

Biographical sources

  • Phone conversation with Emare Karaka, Aug. 1998.
  • Te Ao Mārama: Regaining Aotearoa: Māori Writers Speak Out. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 2: He Whakaatanga O Te Ao: The Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1993. 87.

    Biography

  • "Emily Karaka." Women and the Arts in New Zealand: forty works, 1936-1986. Ed. Elizabeth Eastmond and Merimeri Penfold. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1986.
  • Fiction

  • "Wahine: K.E.L.T.: A (True) Short Story." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 1 (1987): 14.
  • Karaka writes of the solidarity of four women who have been sexually and emotionally abused by whanau and adopted families.
  • Non-fiction

  • "Waitangi Tribunal sitting in Te Waipounamu." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 1 (1987): 9.
  • A discussion of the Ngāi Tahu claim to the Waitangi Tribunal which began on August 17, 1987, at Tuahiwi Marae, and the call for the Treaty to be ratified.
  • "Herbs - Band of the Land." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 1 (1987). 10.
  • Karaka writes a brief history of the Herbs band.
  • "Mahi Whakairo: A O T Earoa: Artists or terrorists." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 1 (1987). 11.
  • Karaka responds to Ross Meurant’s parliamentary maiden speech of 1 October 1987 when he asserted that Karaka and others were involved in "terrorist activity". She discusses her exhibition with Norman Te Whata, entitled "Mahi Whakairo", quotes various reviews of the exhibition and writes of the plight of Māoridom.
  • "Te Māori connections." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 1 (1987): 11.
  • Karaka questions the hidden agenda surrounding the funding of Te Māori and discusses who benefited from the exhibition.
  • "Kimihia Television Training programme." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 2 (1987): 9.
  • Karaka gives a short introduction to the twelve-month Kimihia Television Training Programme which has 50 places available to train Māori in the television industry.
  • "Māori Women’s Development Fund." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 2 (1987). 16.
  • A brief account of the work and scope of the Māori Women’s Development fund which was formed ‘to place more Māori women into the business arenas and functions under the Māori Women’s Welfare League, with moneys coming through the Māori Affairs Board, Mana Enterprises Sub-Committee.’
  • Whanau Development. Karaka Klassic Kreations, 1991. No further details.
  • "Witness." Te Ao Mārama: Regaining Aotearoa: Māori Writers Speak Out. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 2: He Whakaatanga O Te Ao: The Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1993. 87-88.
  • Karaka presents a personal account of her experience as a protester during the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand.
  • Poetry

  • "Rape of Our Voice." Arms Linked: Women Against the Tour: Poetry and Prose by New Zealand Women Opposed to the 1981 Springbok Tour. Ed. Margaret Freeman and Rosemary Hollins. Auckland, N.Z.: Margaret Freeman and Rosemary Hollins, 1982. 13-14.
  • In the midst of the harsh environment of the Red Squad and the 1981 Springbok Tour, the speaker mourns the death of her kuia and her father. In her great pain and voicelessness she senses their return to strengthen their mokopuna.
  • "Move! Move! Move!" Arms Linked: Women Against the Tour: Poetry and Prose by New Zealand Women Opposed to the 1981 Springbok Tour. Ed. Margaret Freeman and Rosemary Hollins. Auckland, N.Z.: Margaret Freeman and Rosemary Hollins, 1982. 15.
  • This poem is dedicated to those in Aotearoa and Azania who have suffered at the hands of racists. Karaka graphically portrays the aggressive stance of army and legislators concerning Māori land rights in the past and in the era of the 1981 Springbok Tour.
  • "Mawewe (Aotearoa Laments)." Broadsheet 101 (1982): 67. Rpt. in Te Iwi o Aotearoa 1 (1987): 14.
  • The speaker berates the savagery of the baton-wielding squads during the anti-tour demonstrations and grieves over her exclusion from a tribal meeting.
  • "Wahine Toa; Maremai." Te Iwi Te Iwi o Aotearoa 1 (1987): 14.
  • The poet asserts the strength of Wahine Toa, Te Iwi of Aotearoa, Io Matua Kore and Ranginui in overcoming the pervayors of crime, sexism, racism, capitalism and fascism.
  • "Te Iwi O Aotearoa." Te Iwi Te Iwi o Aotearoa 1 (1987): 14.
  • The poet condemns the demeaning and insincere platitudes of Pakeha educators, legislators and corporate executives who have subjected Māori to 150 years of broken promises and "Cultural Trickery".

    Other

  • Cartwright, Garth. "Review: Visual arts." More 70 (1989): 159-161.
  • Snow, Terry. "An Emblem of Anger." Listener 15 Mar. 1986: 34-35.
  • Taylor, Rob. "Questions of Culture Arise from Karaka’s Graffiti." Dominion 16 Jan. 1991: 8.
  • Ihimaera, Witi. "Karaka." Art New Zealand 60 (1991): 78-81, 109.