 witi tame ihimaera-smiler, dcnzm, qsm (born 7 february 1944), generally known as witi ihimaera , is a new zealand author, and is often regarded as one of the most prominent mÄori writers alive. ==biography== ihimaera was born near gisborne, a town in the east of new zealand's north island and is of mÄori descent (te aitanga-a-mahaki) and anglo-saxon descent through his father, tom. he attended church college of new zealand in temple view, hamilton, new zealand. he was the first mÄori writer to publish both a novel and a book of short stories. he began to work as a diplomat at the new zealand ministry of foreign affairs in 1973, and served at various diplomatic posts in canberra, new york, and washington, d.c. ihimaera remained at the ministry until 1989, although his time there was broken by several fellowships at the university of otago in 1975 and victoria university of wellington in 1982 (where he graduated with a ba). in 1990, he took up a position at the university of auckland, where he became professor, and distinguished creative fellow in mÄori literature. he retired from this position in 2010. in 2004, his nephew gary christie lewis married lady davina windsor, becoming the first mÄori to marry into the british royal family. ==literature== most of ihimaera's work consists of short stories or novels. he has written a considerable number of stories, with the most notable being works such as tangi, pounamu,&nbsp;pounamu, and the whale rider (the last of which became a film of the same name). his stories generally portray mÄori culture in modern new zealand. his work often focuses on problems within contemporary mÄori society. in 1995, ihimaera published [[nights in the gardens
1944_births 20th-century_New_Zealand_novelists 21st-century_New_Zealand_novelists Distinguished_Companions_of_the_New_Zealand_Order_of_Merit Gay_writers LGBT_writers_from_New_Zealand Living_people MAori_culture New_Zealand_MAori_writers New_Zealand_male_novelists People_educated_at_Gisborne_Boys\'_High_School People_educated_at_the_Church_College_of_New_Zealand People_from_the_Gisborne_District Recipients_of_the_Queen\'s_Service_Medal Te_Aitanga-a-MAhaki University_of_Auckland_faculty Victoria_University_of_Wellington_alumni