Hosted by In*ter*is*land Collective & New Zealand Studies Network in association with Bridget Williams Books & Contemporary HUM
Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa is the great ocean continent. Today, most of us think of the ocean as something that divides land and separates people. However, for those Indigenous to the Pacific (or the Moana), the sea was traditionally a connector and an ancestor.
Writer Lana Lopesi’s new book False Divides explores how these connections were dismantled by colonialism and describes how imperialism in the Moana created false divides between islands and separated their peoples.
The UK book launch of False Divides was held at MOKU, Raven Row in London. Lana led the session with readings from the book, followed by a panel discussion that unpacked complicated histories, reflecting on personal experience and a re-discovery of connection. The session concluded with a waiata (song) and a poem written by Vanessa Lee Miller, followed by a shared supper and more conversation.
The book launch was preceded by the inaugural gathering of the In*ter*is*land Collective Reading Group, which was facilitated by Lana and covered themes in False Divides.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR LANA LOPESI
Lana Lopesi is a critic of art and culture based Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. Lana’s writing has featured in a number of publications in print and online as well as in numerous artist and exhibition catalogues. Lana is currently the Editor-in-Chief for The Pantograph Punch and was Founding Editor of #500words.
Follow Lana on twitter at: @lanalopesi
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
BWB Texts are short books on big subjects by great New Zealand writers. Spanning contemporary issues, history and memoir, and the series now amounts to well over fifty works.
False Divides is available for purchase here https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/false-divides
