Trixie Te Arama Menzies

Ngāti Maru

1936 -

Trixie Menzies was born in Wellington and was educated in ten different country schools in the North Island before going to Auckland University where she gained an M.A. (Hons) degree. She taught at Otahuhu College from In 1989 she worked in the English Department at the University of Auckland and established the English component of the new Wellesley Programme. From 1990-1991 she was Secretary of the Auckland Branch of P.E.N and in 1990 was Nga Puna Waihanga representative on the government advisory committee for the aborted London flat. She is a member of Waiata Koa which began as an Auckland-based Māori women’s group of artists and writers. She has published three collections of poetry and edited other collections. She has given many poetry readings, in Auckland, in other parts of New Zealand, and overseas. The annotations have been written in collaboration with Trixie Te Arama Menzies.

Biographical sources

  • Correspondence from Trixie Te Arama Menzies, 31 July, 8 and 20 Aug. 1998, 27 Apr. 2001 and 29 June 2004.
  • Te Ha questionnaire, 1992.
  • Landfall 42.3 (1988): 351.
  • Uenuku. Illustrations by Toi Te Rito Maihi. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986.

    Fiction

  • "The Unborn." Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 258-262.
  • A story about the confluence of events surrounding the birth of Mariana’s baby.

    • Non-fiction

  • "Appreciation of a Poem." Landfall 42 (1988): 305-310. Rpt. as "From E Pā tō Hau." without the English translation of the lyric in 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. 54-57.
  • Menzies provides an English translation and discussion of the lyric "E Pā tō Hau".
  • "Kowhai Gold - Skeleton or Scapegoat?" Landfall 42.1 (Mar. 1988):19-26.
  • Menzies revisits Kowhai Gold and takes issue with its critics, particularly Curnow’s derision of the collection. Menzies argues that Kowhai Gold is part of the New Zealand poetic tradition and that while Curnow’s collections of New Zealand poetry were seminal, they built on much of what had preceded them.
  • "John Mulgan: A Man You Can’t Kill." JNZL: Journal of New Zealand Literature 8 (1990): 74-86.
  • "The Triumph of Language and Music: Māori Women Composers of Song." Standing in the Sunshine: A History of New Zealand Women Since They Won the Vote. Principal author and principal researcher - text and illustrations Sandra Coney. Editorial advisers - Charlotte Macdonald, Anne Else, Dame Joan Metge, Tania Rei, Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Angela Ballara, Merimeri Penfold, and Rosemarie Smith. Auckland, N.Z.: Viking-Penguin Books, 1993. 266-267.
  • Menzies writes of Māori women composers Rangi Topeora, Puhiwahine, Te Puea Herangi, Tuini Ngawai and Ngoi Pewhairangi and discusses some of their songs.
  • Introduction. He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 9.
  • Menzies writes that this publication is ‘a song of celebration among women friends....It is about the mana of women, the enormous resilient strength of the life-givers and nurturers, powerful but never aggressive, peaceful but never passive.’

    • Other

  • "Correspondence." Landfall 159 (1986): 405-407. Rpt. in "Four Responses to The Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse." Terry Sturm, Hirini Moko Mead, Keri Hulme and Trixie Te Arama Menzies. 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. 329-336.
  • In this article that includes four different responses to The Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse (1985), Trixie Te Arama Menzies critiques C. K. Stead’s review of the anthology.

    • Poetry

  • "Easter 1979." ibid. 20.
  • The poet writes of the mesmerising impact of a Bob Marley concert in Easter 1979 in which ‘Marley is perceived as demigod by so many young people. The Rasta colours, green, gold, black, red (wine), are worked into the language.’
  • "Uenuku." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 8. Rpt. in Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems In English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland UP, 2003. 138.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Spring Growth." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 10.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Harakeke." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 13. Rpt. in The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry/Ngā Kupu T˚tohu o Aotearoa. Ed. Miriama Evans, Harvey McQueen and Ian Wedde. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1989. 344-345. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 92. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed.Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 254-255.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Woman Walks Alone On Lonely Track." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 14-15.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "New Year’s Day Walk." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 16.
  • After intense spring cleaning and the memory of a difficult year just passed, the speaker takes comfort in the rocky shoreline of her evening walk. In this poem there is imagery of ‘the basement as subconscious, repository of rubbish, treasure, loose ends. After the mental housework a sense of wellbeing and openness.’
  • "Weedeater." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 17.
  • The speaker considers her ambivalent relationship with weeds.
  • "Manuhiri." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 19.
  • The poem explores the relation and indeed the definition of manuhiri and host. Menzies writes that it is ‘a view of history, or an interpretation of history, as rapist. The precariousness of security, which is an illusion anyway.’
  • "23 1/2 Degrees." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 21.
  • ‘The title refers to the tilt of the earth’s axis which gives the earth its seasons, without which life as we know it could not be sustained.’
  • "Up There." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 24.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Climber." Uenuku. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986. 25.
  • A description of the lonely and sometimes perilous climb of the speaker.
  • Uenuku. Foreword by Ramai Hayward. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1986.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Muka." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 6. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 91.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi. Rpt. in Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems In English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Auckland, N.Z.: AUP, 2003. 137-138.
  • "Koauau." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 7.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Anzac." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 94.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Ocean of Tongues." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 17.
  • Menzies writes of this poem: ‘A reply to the gossip surrounding the ending of a long-lasting relationship. A way of regaining mana and self-respect. The poem uses the sexual imagery of the waka and the paddle to illustrate aspects of the terminated relationship, addressing the man’s female relatives whose instinct is to cover up for their tungane.’
  • "Auckland, N.Z. Streets." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 24.
  • The poet likens Auckland, N.Z.’s Karangahape Road in daytime to a ‘wounded angel of the town’ longing for nightfall. She writes: ‘A cry against the escalating violence of inner Auckland, N.Z. The street music was tuneless and dysfunctional, asking for pity not celebrating joy.’
  • "No Smoke Without Fire." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 25.
  • A powerful, fast-paced portrayal of an innocent excursion to the beach sabotaged by a rapist. Menzies writes: ‘A modern setting, a beach near South Auckland, N.Z. where family violence and abuse is endemic. The poem was primarily inspired by Robyn Kahukiwa’s Wahine Toa illustration of Hine-Titama’s moment of truth. She asks her husband Tane (who is of course also her father) ‘Who is my father?’ and is answered ‘Go ask the posts of the house.’ The irony being that the pou are the ancestors. The poem explores the ugly side of incest, which figures in explanations of origin as well as accounting for death. In the Greek version with Ceres, Hades and Persephone, Hades’ rape of Persephone brings Winter to the world, and the story explains the turning seasons. Tane is perhaps more benign, since he is a life-bringer, carer and nurturer as well as the agent of death.’
  • "To a Young Truck Driver." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 26.
  • A poem about the impact of being hit by a drunk driver.
  • "Not Living." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 27.
  • The poet considers the discarded fragments of lines and words which may form the substance of new poems.
  • "Heaven Was In Our Eyes." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 28.
  • Changing views of the stars.
  • "In a Clearing With Lions." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 29.
  • The speaker opts to trust the truthfulness of women instead of the unreliability of men.
  • "Old Photos." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 30.
  • Revisiting old photographs, the speaker recognises the devastating effect of male domination on herself and her mother.
  • Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi. A collection of twenty-three poems with notes by Menzies, two poems by her mother Dorothy Calvert and a foreword by Ramai Hayward The poet writes of her Māori identity and ancestry, the landscape, men’s inhumanity to women, and ‘responses to art, literature, and the life of the mind; family relationships and friendships.’
  • "Ki āku Tipuna Māori." ibid. 9. Rpt. in The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry/Ngā Kupu T˚tohu o Aotearoa. Ed. Miriama Evans, Harvey McQueen and Ian Wedde. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1989. 343. Rpt. in Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems In English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland UP, 2003. 138-139.
  • The speaker muses on the presence of ‘a black-eyed woman’ who appears at significant points in the speaker’s life.
  • "Watercress." ibid. 11. Rpt. in The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry/Ngā Kupu T˚tohu o Aotearoa. Ed. Miriama Evans, Harvey McQueen and Ian Wedde. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1989. 343-344. Rpt. in Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems In English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland UP, 2003. 139.
  • A poem in which the gathering of watercress takes on evocations of plundering the ‘secret places’ of the earth.
  • "Flight North." ibid. 23. Rpt. in The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry/Ngā Kupu T˚tohu o Aotearoa. Ed. Miriama Evans, Harvey McQueen and Ian Wedde. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1989. 345.
  • Menzies writes of this poem: ‘Expectations of family relationships as pictured in mythology and religion, confronting the reality - ‘in my father’s house’ - how valid are these cliches? Who wrote them anyway? Laius was killed by his son at a place ‘where three roads meet’. Lear could not distinguish between his good and bad daughters, and perished. The Cinderella story sets up stepsisters against each other, Snow White has to contend with a wicked stepmother who baits her with a rosy apple. Win-lose contests for the moral high ground. As the sun leaves the northern hemisphere to travel south, so love and life should flow down the generations. Willy-nilly, the next generation takes from the last, and this process can be joyful or brutal. ‘The fall’ - the turning season, and the loss of the childhood Eden that parenthood must bring. But the reward for yielding up youthful irresponsibility is the fulfilment of maturity and the coming of wisdom, and the joy of the next generation.’
  • "Real Estate Agents." PRINTOUT: Literature and Arts Magazine 1 (Nov. 1991): 8. Rpt. in Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 21.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Census Night A.D. 1991." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 11.
  • This poem, Menzies states: ‘refers to the census of A.D. 1. Again, a contemporary South Auckland, N.Z. setting for a historical and religious event. - ‘forget a baby/born to a sister bedded in a back room’. In the official, ‘Caesar’ part of the poem the language is thick and Latinate, then it smooths out. No wise kings attend this stable.’
  • "Nga Roimata." ibid. 8-9. Rpt. in Te Pua 1.1 (Sept. 1992): 22-23. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 255-256.
  • In this poem the speaker interposes herself between her grieving daughter and Hinenuitepo. ‘I came out of respect for her ([the Dark Lady])/To stand between her and you.’ Menzies writes: ‘In some burial customs the immediate mourners are pulled back from the grave’s edge by a powerful person. "the uncarved house" - this unpretentious little meetinghouse was built in the era when the missionaries, whose influence in the North was early, pervasive and strong, had banned that sign of paganism, carving.’
  • "Karanga." Wrapper. Ed. Michael O’Leary. Dunedin, N.Z.: Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, 1992. 50. Rpt. in Rerenga. Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 8.
  • Menzies writes: ‘The ‘broken call’ may well have come from a female, but a number of those responding to it are male - ‘Potent the bird-men in their time’. ‘The old ones long outlawed’, i.e. driven underground by colonialism, Christianity, the Tohunga Suppression Act. This poem was partly inspired by two poems both called ‘The Return’, both concerning the return of the old gods; one by Ezra Pound, one by Alistair Campbell. ‘the blazing city of a thousand needs’ - wordplay on Tamakimakaurau.’
  • "Maui Steals Time." Wrapper. Ed. Michael O’Leary. Dunedin, N.Z.: Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, 1992. 50. Rpt. in Rerenga. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 9. Rpt. in Dangerous Landscapes: An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry. Comp. Rangi Faith. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1994. 65. Rpt. as "Maui Steals Time (to Stephen Hawking)." in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 93. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed B, 1996. 257.
  • "Koha." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 6.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Gold." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 7.
  • A poem about ‘synchronicity, serendipity rather than curious coincidence. A connection with Arapera’s essay on kumara growing on the East Coast, and the kumara imagery that runs through her poetry.’
  • "Kakatai." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 10.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Waiata." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 12-13.
  • A poem about an extended Māori family at the beach.
  • "Man." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 14.
  • The poet writes of Cape Reinga - the departure point for deceased spirits on their journey to Hawaiki.
  • "Where is our Hope?" Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 15.
  • A poem highlighting the insensitivity of a man to a woman with evocations of wider incompatibilities of a racial and national nature. Menzies writes: ‘A real-life incident reported on TV about a Māori man in Sydney who killed his wife outside the courthouse.’
  • "Easter Wedding." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 16.
  • A portrait of a woman standing under a lassiandra as the petals fall upon her. Menzies writes that ‘Falling petals are a sign of grief and mourning. ‘The bride had gone’, i.e. the all-too-brief season. Venous - wordplay on Venus, goddess of sexual love, but also venous blood. Arterial blood is bright red, but blood from a vein is purplish.’
  • "French Knitting." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 17.
  • A prose poem in which the speaker reflects on the vagaries of life.
  • "The Healer’s Art." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 19.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi. Rhetorical questions concerning the motivations of a doctor who places a painting of drowned Ophelia in his surgery waiting room.
  • "House of Cards." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 20.
  • The poet writes of the lionising of Frank Sargeson’s bach and the inflation of memories concerning him.
  • "Cambridge." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 25.
  • Menzies writes: ‘When visiting England as a tourist the poet realises the extensive effect of colonialism on New Zealand, how Cambridge, New Zealand, has tried so hard to resemble its original. Only then is the deception manifest, as she sits on a seat in Cambridge, England, but is mentally back in Te Koutu Park. The identity switch goes into reverse.’
  • "Pomme." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 26-27.
  • A parody of the patter of a French tour guide. Menzies writes: ‘In all this patter there are no words of welcome or hospitality to manuhiri. Only the apple gives an unconscious welcome.’
  • "Nikos." Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992. 29.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • Rerenga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1992.
  • Poems by Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Illus. Toi Te Rito Maihi.
  • "Apple." ibid. 18. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing for Children. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 4: Te Ara o Te Hau: The Path of the Wind. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1994. 96-97.
  • A poem on the life span of an apple tree growing in the shade of two ‘towering giants’.
  • "Toko." ibid. 30-31. Rpt. in Dangerous Landscapes: An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry. Comp. Rangi Faith. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1994. 75.
  • Menzies writes: ‘This is the late Toko Morehu’s story. He was in Crete with the 28th Battalion. Dangerous Landscapes only republished the first part. The second part, on p.31, is more sombre, pointing up New Zealand racial attitudes in a devastating way. Oddly enough, both parts of the poem, in different ways, feature milk.’
  • "Antony Abandons Printout." Auckland Live 5 (1994): 18.
  • "From Summer the Driver, and the Tour Guide Moon Fair Helen." Poetry NZ 8 (1994): 37-38.
  • "Clef du Champs." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 11.
  • The poet writes of Rene Magritte’s painting "Clef du Champs" which was exhibited in New Zealand as part of the Thyssen Bornemisza collection.
  • "Godwits, Miranda." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 12.
  • A reflection on D. M. Ross’s poem "The Flight" which was published in Kowhai Gold (1930) and a description of the northern migration of kuaka (godwits) from Miranda Beach. Menzies mentions Ross’s poem in her article "Kowhai Gold, Skeleton or Scapegoat." (Landfall 42.1 (Mar. 1988): 19-26.)
  • "Homesick." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 14.
  • While standing in the purified air on the heights of Vancouver Island the poet ironically misses the ‘dimlit smoking hubbub of the Globe!" She writes of the ‘glorious impurity of creativity - sterility vs. fertility.’
  • "Mt. Eden Festival." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 15.
  • In this poem, written for the "The Ides of March" festival held on the slopes of Maungawhau (Mt Eden) in March 1987, the poet ‘refers specifically to "Julius Caesar" (Shakespeare), in which Cinna the poet is mistaken for Cinna the conspirator. The bloodthirsty crowd, run amok, will kill him for his ‘bad verses’ if nothing else.’
  • "Ha, Othello." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 16.
  • In this poem influenced by Hone Tuwhare’s "Desdemona", Menzies examines the sexual politics of Othello’s knowledge of Desdemona.
  • "Rescue." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 18.
  • Menzies writes: ‘The carving is the ancestral Uenuku. It is the centre of the book, opposite the fullpage fire pattern. The story of its burning is well known. Its strange flames alerted the watchers that this was no ordinary piece of wood. The poem’s use of the word ‘iridescent’ is a linguistic link with the ‘rainbow’ carving.’
  • "Papakainga." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 18
  • This poem ‘celebrates a cooking fire with ancestral connection. Literally ‘papakainga’ is a place where (cooking) fires have burned.’
  • "Volcano." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 20.
  • The poet writes of a build-up of tension with allusions to characters in "The First Part of King Henry the Fourth’ and inspiration from Ross Hemera’s painting "Tarawera".
  • "Tarawera Lives." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 21.
  • The poet ‘links Mt Tarawera, and the process of childbirth, with the Māori renaissance - ‘treatied’, ‘her own tongue’ - like them, a natural process.’
  • "Rastafarian With a Blue Rosette." ibid. 22. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 254.
  • A rap in which a job-hunting Rastafarian battles against discrimination. Menzies writes that ‘the title describes an image on TV during the 1987 election campaign. David Lange had ridiculed National’s undertaking to provide a job for a Mangere Rastafarian.’
  • "Kehua." Papakainga. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1988. 10. Rpt. in He Wai: A Song: First Nation’s Women’s Writing: A Waiata Koa collection. Ed. Trixie Te Arama Menzies. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 1996. 23.
  • The speaker addresses an agitated kehua who is haunting her.
  • "Argument at Delphi." ibid. 28. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 256-257.
  • The poet writes of the beguiling impact of the food, history and atmosphere of Delphi.
  • In The Presence of My Foes. Auckland, N.Z.: Waiata Koa, 2000.

  • Reviews

  • "Reviews." Rev. of Horse, by James Baxter in Landfall 40 (1986): 515-517.
  • "Dalwurra - Papers from the First National Conference by Aboriginal Writers Held in Perth, Western Australia, in 1983." Landfall 43 (1989): 107-110.
  • Rev. of The Fantasy Eaters, Stories from Fiji, by Subramani. Landfall 44 (1990): 99-101.
  • "Another Curve of the Spiral." Rev. of Cousins, by Patricia Grace in PRINTOUT: Literature and Arts Magazine 4 (Feb. 1993): 56-57.
  • "Tangohia Mai Te Taura I Taku Kaki." Rev. of Te Ao Marama 2: Regaining Aotearoa: Māori Writers Speak Out, ed. Witi Ihimaera, Haare Williams and Irihapeti Ramsden in PRINTOUT: Literature and Arts Magazine 7 (Autumn 1994): 48+.
  • MacKenzie, Joy, and Trixie Te Arama Menzies. "Boks." Rev. of Hecate: Special Aotearoa/New Zealand Issue. Rev. of Women In Wartime, ed. Lauris Edmond in Sunday Start Times 9 July 1995: D5.
  • "Exploring NZ Fiction of Past." Rev. of The Duel on the Creek and Other Tales of Victorian New Zealand, ed. Ray Hargreaves and Peter Holland in Sunday Star Times 2 July 1995: D4.
  • "Tour de Force." Rev. of Te Ao Marama 3: Te Puawaitanga o te Korero: The Flowering, ed. Witi Ihimaera (and others). Rev. of Te Ao Marama 4: Te Aro o Te Hau: The Path of the Wind, ed. by Witi Ihimaera (and others) in Printout 10 (1995/1996): 77-79.
  • "Then Dip My Pitcher Full of Clear Water." Rev. of Curved Horizon, An Autobiography, by Ruth Dallas in Printout 10(1995/1996): 79-81.
  • "Poetic Addition to the Anti-nuke Cause." Rev. of Below the Surface, Words and Images in Protest at French Testing on Mururoa, ed. Ambury Hall in Sunday Start Times 11 Feb. 1996: D5.
  • "Reviews." Rev. of Nga Iwi o Tainui: The Traditional History of the Tainui People – Nga Koorero Tuku Iho a Nga Tuupuna, by Pei Te Hurinui Jones and Bruce Biggs. Rev. of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend, by Margaret Orbell in Landfall 192 (1996): 347-350.
  • "Latest Printout aided by Strong Comment." Rev of Printout 11 in Sunday Star Times 10 Nov. 1996: E7.
  • MacKenzie, Joy, and Trixie Te Arama Menzies. "Books." Rev. of The Top of the Morning Book of Excuses, by Brian Edwards. Rev. oof Angel in God’s Office: My Wartime Diaries, by Neva Clarke McKenna in Sunday Star Times 22 Dec. 1996: E4.
  • Rev. of Where We Once Belonged, by Sia Figiel in Sunday Star Times 2 Mar. 1997: E4.

    Reviews

    Papakainga
  • Allan, Guy. "Poetry." NZ Herald 17 Sept. 1988.
  • McQueen, Harvey. "Coat of Arms." Listener 25 Feb. 1989: 46.
  • Rerenga
  • Faith, Rangi. "Journeyings in verse." The Press 20 Feb. 1993: 12.