Graeme Downes, Glenn Colquhoun, And Tainui Stephens Unite To Share Their Love For The Word

Nau mai koutou ki tēnei pō e whatakotoria ana ko tēnei mea te kupu. Ko te kupu rotarota ko te kupu waiata, ka mutu ko te whiringa kōrero i waenga i ēnei tokotoru e noho ake nei ki Kāpiti. Hou mai koutou ki roto i te whare kōrero.

Three nationally known Kāpiti locals celebrate the words of poetry and song through kōrero in Ōtaki:

Toi te Kupu — the Art of the Word.

The event, on November 9, will feature:

• Dr Graeme Downes: songwriter and lead singer of Flying Nun band The Verlaines, academic, and poet

• Dr Glenn Colquhoun: GP, poet, children’s writer, and essayist • Tainui Stephens: Te Rarawa film producer, director and writer

The evening will be a relaxed celebration of the spoken and lyric word — a vital life force in both Māori and Pākehā cultures. It will also highlight the synergies between the three men and their diverse talents.

The idea for Toi te Kupu sprang from a sold-out poetry reading by Graeme at Mana Little Theatre in Plimmerton. Friends urged him to showcase his new works in Ōtaki, where he now lives after moving from Dunedin in 2020.

Graeme and Glenn bonded over coffee at Graeme’s house. Graeme and Tainui bonded over their mutual love of Mahler (Graeme’s PhD topic). All were keen for the event to be held at the Māoriland Hub.

The Verlaines’ lyrics are marked by verbal virtuosity — the band was famously named for French poet Paul Verlaine — so it’s not surprising Graeme the songwriter has turned increasingly to what has always been a mainstay of his creativity.

"Age and illness precludes me thrashing about with a guitar round my neck and bellowing like days of old—hence the transition to words only. They walk by themselves well enough, though, that said, there is plenty of music still in them." Graeme Downes

The musicality of poetry is also deeply imbued in acclaimed poet Glenn Colquhoun’s work, some of which he performs in song form. His deeply compassionate poems, often inspired by patients and loved ones, are influenced by both Māori and Pākehā traditions of oral poetry.

Glen says ‘I think of this quote from William Carlos Williams — another poet and doctor — when people ask how I manage medicine and poetry at the same time. It reminds me that whenever I start walking the rivers of one sooner or later I will arrive in the mountains of the other.

“It is difficult / to get the news from poems / yet men die miserably every day / for lack / of what is found there.”’

Tainui is a lover of music and words. He has brought these passions to his career as an advocate and practitioner of Māori screen storytelling. He's committed to the role of the indigenous storyteller in the modern era, within the community and the world. "If words are indeed the clothing of our thoughts, and they are, I refuse to be shabby about it." Tainui will guide the evening and contribute to the kōrero with his own writings and observations of the flow between Graeme and Glenn.

Any proceeds from the evening will contribute to the Māoriland Maara, a well-being and kai growing space for Ōtaki community, and the many artists and rangatahi who come through the Māoriland Hub.

Toi te Kupu

—The Art of the Word

Saturday, November 9, 6.30 p.m.

Māoriland Hub, 68 Main St, Ōtaki

Tickets $15 from Eventfinda, or on the door

https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2024/toi-te-kupu-the-art-of-the-word/otaki

Refreshments available - koha and eftpos.

Merchandise including CDs by The Verlaines and publications by Glen Colquhoun will be available for sale.

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