On the Road: Professor David McAleavey in Auckland
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| David McAleavey and Witi Ihimaera |
As the semester begins, the English Department Blog is happy to revive its “On the Road” series, occasional short pieces detailing the comings and goings of our illustrious faculty. As this photo shows, Professor David McAleavey got together with a former GW World Literature Fellow, the Maori writer Witi Ihimaera. Professor McAleavey was in Auckland, New Zealand shortly before Christmas, 2012.
Professor McAleavey writes, “When I was directing the Creative Writing program, I organized a series of one-month residencies with important authors from various countries (India, New Zealand, Argentina, and South Africa). Witi’s residency included the screening of the film Whale Rider, based on his novel of that name. Now retired from the University of Auckland, where he had been teaching creative writing, Witi continues to write; his most important recent novel is The Trowenna Sea(Raupo/Penguin, 2009). He has also just assisted with a new film based on his work, whose plot hinges around disguised racial identity in a postcolonial context, and he has high hopes for this becoming a major motion picture. Stay tuned!” You can watch the trailer for the film The Whale Rider here.
Next up in On the Road: Professor Patricia Chu in Beijing.
