Creative Inspirations: Gina Cole, author of Black Ice Matter and Na Viro

Gina Cole

Author image credit: Vicky Leopold The writers and/or creatives that have inspired my writing are...  Witi Ihimaera. I first read Pounamu Pounamu when I was about 12 years old. It’s a magical and profound book and had a huge influence on me. My desert island book would be... Matariki: The Star of the Year by Rangi Mātāmua, so I could learn about the constellations in the night sky and figure out where I was and navigate my drua to the islands around me. My favourite Pasifika writer/book is... Vā Stories by Women of the Moana– an inspiring collection of stories by women from all over the Pacific edited by Sisilia Eteuati and Lani Young. The one book I think everyone should read is... Decolonizing Methodologies by Linda Tuhiwai Smith. A seminal work that critiques Western research methodologies and advocates for Indigenous approaches to knowledge and research. The last book I read was... Poorhara by Michelle Rahurahu. A road trip story that unflinchingly portrays systemic inequality in Aotearoa. Loved it. Gina Cole is a Fijian/Pakeha writer, currently working on the second book in a Pasifikafuturist trilogy. Her debut short story collection, Black Ice Matter, won the Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards in 2017.