Novelist, memoirist and playwright Witi Ihimaera – author of Pounamu, Pounamu and The Whale Rider – decided, at the age of eighty, to dive back into the water and spend a year full time at Te Wananga Takiura, immersing himself in his own language, in te reo Maori. This book tells the story of this kaikaukau, this swimmer, and his year i te ao o te reo – of sinking and floating; of loss and shame, connection and wairua; of fathers and teachers, kuia and friends. A riveting and revealing memoir, Te Kaikaukau | The Swimmer sparkles with whaikorero and whakatauki and is written for all – Maori and Pakeha, fluent reo Maori speakers and those for whom the language is still a mystery, a dream, an aspiration. It is the story of a Maori New Zealander reclaiming his voice, history and whakapapa in contemporary Aotearoa. Of becoming Witi Ihimaera Smiler and drawing closer to his desire to write a novel in te reo for his beloved father Tom and his tipuna.
