A little while ago I was lying in bed, having a nice daydream (probably about having a pet narwhal), when I abruptly remembered that somewhere in my boxes of ephemera I had a letter from Keri Hulme. I dug it out.
Hulme is the author of the bone people – winner of the Booker Prize in 1985. It tells the story of 3 characters, shifting perspectives and weaving their dreams, aspirations and fears together. From Amazon: “[It] explores the potential within families for both destruction and healing, as well as the great personal costs of the disintegration of individual connections to traditional communities and cultures – in this case, the indigenous Maori culture of New Zealand.”
the bone people has been a a bit of a contentious book over the years, garnering both good and bad reviews. I recently reexamined it and found while the non-traditional shape of the book is deliberate decision, it would have perhaps benefited from a thorough edit. Positively, I found the exploration of Maori spirituality and language to be absurdly refreshing. (That said, it shouldn’t be, why isn’t this expression more common in the literature of this country?)
In any case, the letter my younger self received is so nice and generous I thought I’d share (and yes, I love the astrology references):
My request was for a barely remembered school project – an illustrated calendar with a different literary figure for each month. I also found it hilarious that I had clearly said to her “I want to be a writer”. Funny how things turn out.
My mother is a big fan of ‘reaching out’ to people, so as a kid I also had correspondence with British poets, a builder based in Antarctica and other amazing people. Have you ever connected with someone you admire?
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