In 1990, the seismic novel Once Were Warriors shone a spotlight on the Māori urban underclass; Alan Duff’s award-winning sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? was similarly preoccupied. In Out of the Mist and the Steam he documented his childhood – including as a State ward – and in newspaper columns and Māori: The Crisis and the Challenge he has explored Māori under-performance.

Having returned home after years writing in France, the founder of Duffy Books In Home reflects on parenting, the prison, education and welfare systems, and what he perceives as a culture of entitlement, in A Conversation with My Country. He takes stock with Paula Morris.

Supported by Peter Macky and Yuri Opeshko.

 

Writer Bio

Novelist, memoirist, commentator, and Duffy Books In Homes founder Alan Duff is the author of 11 novels, including the best-selling Once Were Warriors. His non-fiction includes A Conversation With My Country, and he is currently working with Sonny Bill Williams on an upcoming book.