We are pleased to celebrate the short form and its beauty in English and te reo Māori, with samples from a reading series that featured dual-language works from the anthology Short | Poto: The big book of small stories | Iti te kupu, nui te kōrero (Massey University Press, 2025). The video series was launched in September and featured music from Gillian Whitehead’s ‘Hineraukatauri’ and including taonga pūoro played by Alistair Fraser and Bridget Douglas, courtesy of the composer, musicians, RNZ and SOUNZ.
The entire video series can be found here. We offer on this page a few samples, celebrating te reo Māori during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and all year long.
Nā Robert Sullivan: Pūpū rangi Shelley | Pupurangi Shelley
Nā Ariana Tikao: Me w(h)ero te upoko | Head red
Nā Renee Liang: Kōmaru | Solar
Nā Miriama Gemmell: I horoi ā-ringa koe i ngā tī tāora? | Did you hand-wash the tea towels?
Nā Tracey Slaughter: He paki e mau nei koe | The story where you’re kept
ABOUT THE BOOK
Some books change how we read. Others change how we think about language itself. ‘Short | Poto: The Big Book of Small Stories’ accomplishes both, presenting 100 flash fiction pieces in English and te reo Māori to create one of New Zealand’s first truly bilingual literary anthologies. — Kete Books
Reading ‘Short | Poto’ is an exercise in precision and perspective. These stories demand careful attention and reward slow, deliberate engagement. The form allows readers to pause, reflect, and return – finding something new each time. The dual-language structure encourages a richer, more inclusive reading experience, where te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā sit alongside one another in harmony and tension. — NZ Booklovers
Short | Poto: The big book of small stories | Iti te kupu, nui te kōrero
Edited by Michelle Elvy and Kiri Piahana-Wong
Find the book here