Name:
Apirana Taylor
Date of birth: 15 March 1955
Place of birth: Wellington
Now living in: Paekakariki
- What is your favourite food?
- Kina
- Do you have a nickname and if so what is it?
- No
- What was your most embarrassing moment?
- Being teased about being Māori and doing the haka as people jeered at my favourite dance.
- How do you relax?
- I play my guitar
- Who inspired you when you were little?
- My Māori culture. My mother and my father.
- What were you like at school?
- Average and disinterested in most things except artistic subjects.
- What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
- My favourite subjects at school were art and creative writing.
- What was the book you most loved as a child?
- I loved books which had myths and legends in them. Māori myths, Greek myths, Viking myths etc.
- Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
- Jesus Christ
- Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Why did you want to be a writer?
- Because I can express stories within me that I have to tell and consequently pass on something of value.
- Do you have a special place where you write your books?
- Yes, in my writing room and in my heart, mind and soul.
- What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
- The best thing is that you can create things of value. The worst thing is it’s not always appreciated.
If
you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?- A painter.
- What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
- Get writing! Start by putting one word in front of the other. Keep going! Be strong! Don’t ever give up!