Time travelling poet, Briar Wood

Briar Wood has reimagined the lives of Rongo and Te Rangahau, two 19th century tu puna of her iwi, Ngapuhi, in a new collection of time travelling poetry.Rongo was the daughter of leader and warrier Hongi Hika and married another, Hoone Heke. Te Rangahau lived on the Hokianga with her husband, stevedore John Leaf, and cared for their twelve children. Briar's also a writer of fiction and essays, and now lives in Whangaarei after growing up in South Auckland and working in Britain. Briar's been shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and her poetry widely published and anthologised. Briar Wood tells Lynn how this collection is very personal. It also stretches across time into today's world with poetry about contemporary Te Tai Tokerau.