Hulme, Keri
Biography
Born Kerry Ann Hulme in Christchurch, NZ in 1947, Keri Hulme is of Orkney, English, and Maori descent. In her work she often reflects on racial identity and her connection to her Maori heritage. Upon her father’s death when she was 11, Hulme began to spend more time writing. She attended University of Canterbury to pursue an honors law degree, but financial constraints forced her out after four terms and she returned to New Zealand.
She regularly incorporates Maori and New Zealand-specific terminology into her writing. Consisting of free verse poetry, the original trade edition of The Silences Between was published by Auckland University Press in 1982 and was Hulme’s first published book. Janus Press, an experimental publishing house founded by artist Claire Van Vliet, published 125 copies of their version of The Silences Between in 2016. Her short stories, poetry, and novels center around colonization, identity, nationality, and belonging. Other notable works by Hulme include the bone people (1984) which earned her the Man Booker Prize. She was the first New Zealander to achieve this. She has occasionally written under the pen name “Kai Tainui.”
Hulme resides in the small New Zealand village of Okarito and continues to write.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Production archive for Janus Press edition of The Silences Between by Keri Hulme
The collection consists of the design archive for the 2016 Janus Press edition of The Silences Between (Moeraki Conversations). It includes correspondence and notes from the founder of Janus Press, Claire Van Vliet, and the author of The Silences Between, Keri Hulme.