In this episode of Bad Diaries Podcast, Tracy talks with poet, essayist and zine-maker Nadine Anne Hura about diaries, the narrative arc of a life, writing and drawing, and Dirty Dancing.

After reading at Bad Diaries Salon:RADICAL in Wellington in 2022, Nadine wrote about what it was like to prepare for and take part in the salon, in a piece titled ‘The narrative arc of your own life’. In this episode of the podcast, we use that as a jumping off point for a wide-ranging discussion of diaries and journals (keeping them, losing them, and giving them away), about writing and other ways of making art, and about responding to loss.

Nadine Anne Hura is a writer from Aotearoa New Zealand, of Ngāti Hine and Ngāpuhi whakapapa. Her writing weaves themes of language, identity, equity and climate justice – and it’s full of memory, and of family.

In 2023 Nadine published Narrating the Seasons of Grief, a chapbook adapted from her essay of the same title, about living in the aftermath of the death of her brother, Darren. A short documentary written and narrated by Nadine, ARO WAIRUA: Navigating the Seasons of Grief, was adapted from the essay (available on Māori TV).

At the 2023 Pikihuia Awards (biennial Māori writing awards), Nadine won the Non-fiction in English category for her essay ‘A Dangerous Country’, and her story ‘Affidavit in the Family Court: Ranginui vs Papatūānuku’ was a highly commended finalist in the Short Fiction in English category.

Both of Nadine’s Pikihuia-awarded stories are published in Huia Short Stories 15 (Huia, 2023), and her work has been widely published elsewhere. She writes regularly for online media outlet The Spinoff, she’s an active member of Te Hā o Ngā Pou Kaituhi (identifying, encouraging and promoting Māori writers), and is passionate about grassroots Māori writing and collective publishing.

Find full show notes for this episode on the Bad Diaries Salon website baddiariessalon.com, or get in touch via Instagram or Facebook – we're @baddiariessalon everywhere.

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Bad Diaries Podcast is recorded and produced in Naarm Melbourne, Australia, on the lands of the Kulin Nation; and in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, on the iwi lands of Taranaki Whānui, and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. We pay our respects to Mana Whenua, and to Elders past, present and emerging, of these lands.