Courtney Sina Meredith
Profile
Courtney Sina Meredith is a poet, playwright and fiction writer of Samoan, Mangaian, and Irish heritage. She is the author of Brown Girls in Bright Red Lipstick, Tail of the Taniwha, Burst Kisses on the Actual Wind, and her poetry and short stories have been included in numerous journals and anthologies. As a rising star among Aotearoa and Pasifika writers and performance artists, Courtney has spoken at many international book festivals. She was New Zealand’s representative for the prestigious International Writing Progamme’s Fall Residency at the University of Iowa in 2016, and Writer in Residence for the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska.
A committed human rights activist, Courtney’s writing deals with issues including poverty, conflict, sexism and racism. She is currently Executive Director of Rainbow Youth, an organisation working with queer, gender diverse, takatāpui and intersex youth in Aotearoa.
Insight
Te Reo Glossary
Te Reo Glossary
ākonga
student, pupil
alofa
love, affection (Cook Islands Māori language)
Aotearoa
New Zealand
aroha
love, affection
haere rā
goodbye, farewell
hapū
subtribe, part of a kinship group
ira tangata
term used for intersex in a Māori context
irawhiti
term used for transgender in a Māori context
Itāria
Italy
iwi
extended kinship group descended from a common ancestor and associated with a distinct territory in Aotearoa
kairangahau
researcher
kaitiaki
guardian
kaitiakitanga
guardianship, stewardship
kia kaha ngā wāhine toa
be strong woman warriors
kia ora
hello, greetings
kia orana
hello, greetings (Cook Islands Māori language)
kōrero
conversation, discussion
kuia
female elder
mahi
work
māmā
mother, mum
mana
status, prestige, authority,
Māngere
a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand
Māori
Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand
mauri
life force, life principle
moana
ocean, sea
Ōtautahi
Christchurch, city in South Island, New Zealand
Ōtepoti
Dunedin, city in South Island, New Zealand
pākeha
New Zealander of European/foreign descent
peka
branch (of a tree, river, organisation)
Pōneke
Wellington, Capital of New Zealand
rangatahi
youth, young people
takatāpui
queer, gay, rainbow community
Tāmaki Makaurau
Auckland, city in North Island, New Zealand
tapu
sacred, prohibited
tautoko
to support, advocate
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata
Human Rights Commission, New Zealand
Te Kaunihera Wahine o Aotearoa
National Council of Women of New Zealand
Te Kotahitanga
Autonomous Māori Parliament from 1892 to 1902
Te Moana-Nui-ā-Kiwa
the Pacific Ocean
te reo
the Māori language
Te Ropu Wahine Maori Toko i te Ora
Māori Women’s Welfare League
Te Wāhi Wāhine o Tāmaki Makaurau
Auckland Women’s Centre
tikanga
protocol, correct procedure
wāhine
woman, women
wāhine kaha
strong woman/women
waiata
song, chant
waiata taitoko
song of support usually sung after a speech
wairua
spirit, soul
whakapapa
genealogy, lineage
whānau
family, extended family group
whare
house, building