HBRW 2024 - Wholly Well

Being well is about more than physical health. It's also mental, emotional, spiritual and social. And it's not just individuals that can get sick, but also cultures and societies. Author and health sector advisor, Tihema Baker (Raukawa te Au ki te Tonga, Atiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngati Toa Rangatira) talks to poet, author and GP, Glenn Colquhoun, and creator of gratitude and wellbeing journals, Hira Nathan (Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Nga Puhi) about how we can be a country of well beings.

Glenn Colquhoun:

Glenn Colquhoun is a doctor, poet and children's writer. His first poetry collection, The Art of Walking Upright, won Best First Book of Poetry at the 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. In 2003 he won the Poetry Category and also became the first poet to be awarded the coveted Montana Readers' Choice Award. He has written several children’s books and has been the convener of the New Zealand Post Book Awards. In 2004, Colquhoun was the recipient of the Prize in Modern Letters.

Hira Nathan:

Hira Nathan was born and raised in Hawke's Bay but has lived all over the place. He is an electrician by trade but has always had a passion for writing. He is the author of the bestselling Whakawhetai: Gratitude.

Chair: Tīhema Baker

Tīhema Baker (Raukawa te Au ki te Tonga, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira) is a writer and Tiriti o Waitangi-based policy advisor from Ōtaki. His writing often deconstructs the complex interactions between and within te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā, based on personal and professional experience. He is the author of satirical sci-fi novel Turncoat, which parodies the experiences of Māori public servants working in central government. His essay "New Zealander of the Year", which placed second in the Landfall Essay Competition 2023, explores the deep whakamā felt by Māori learning te reo Māori, and the ignorance of Pākehā learners to it. He is also the author of young adult series The Watchers Trilogy, and various short stories and essays.