{"product_id":"te-kaikaukau-the-swimmer","title":"Te Kaikaukau (The Swimmer)","description":"\u003cp\u003eNew Zealand’s leading Māori writer decides at eighty to go back and learn his own language – and write about it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNovelist, memoirist and playwright Witi Ihimaera – author of\u003cem\u003e Pounamu, Pounamu \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Whale Rider \u003c\/em\u003e– decided, at the age of eighty, to dive back into the water and spend a year full time at Te Wānanga Takiura, immersing himself in his own language, in te reo Māori.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA riveting and revealing memoir, \u003cem\u003eTe Kaikaukau | The Swimmer\u003c\/em\u003e sparkles with whaikōrero and whakataukī and is written for all – Māori and Pākehā, fluent reo Māori speakers and those for whom the language is still a mystery, a dream, an aspiration.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is the story of a Māori 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 tīpuna.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardcover.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Witi Ihimaera Smiler","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49182874304664,"sku":"9781776712380","price":45.9,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/5193\/1032\/files\/Witi-Ihimaera-Smiler-Te-Kaikaukau-The-Swimmer-Mrs-Blackwell_s-Village-Bookshop-Greytown-NZ.jpg?v=1780250918","url":"https:\/\/villagebookshop.co.nz\/products\/te-kaikaukau-the-swimmer","provider":"Mrs Blackwell's Village Bookshop Greytown","version":"1.0","type":"link"}