Short, short stories, sometimes known as flash fiction or microfictions, are one of the trickiest forms to write. Creating a resonant world in fewer than 300 words is no easy task. But the punchy new book Short | Poto: The big book of small stories | Iti te kupu, nui te kōrero, edited by Michelle Elvy and Kiri Piahana-Wong (Massey University Press), takes up this challenge with brio.

It is also a fully bilingual collection, with each story translated into te reo Māori, a huge undertaking as the book has 100 stories by 100 authors in it. We caught up with Kiri and Michelle to find out more about the process.

Kia ora Kiri and Michelle! Short | Poto joins a growing number of flash fiction collections published in Aotearoa in the last decade. And we are seeing more books published in te reo Māori. Why is this the ‘right’ time for Short | Poto?

This collection has two purposes at its centre. While showcasing the dynamic nature of the very short form, it also supports language learning. With more and more people taking up the challenge of learning or regaining te reo Māori in Aotearoa, it seems an excellent time to offer something that can be used alongside classes and textbooks. We admit that when we conceived the project a couple of years back, we didn’t know then what we know now – how today the climate is such that a book like this holds even more weight, as we underscore the importance of diversity, heritage and language. 

More and more books are being made available in te reo Māori. Te Kaieke Tohorā, the translation of Witi Ihimaera’s landmark novel The Whale Rider, came out in 2020 with Penguin. Huia Publishers has been supporting Māori voices and collections for many years. There is the Kotahi Rau Pukapuka – 100 books project, which presents translations into te reo Māori of texts ranging from from Dr Seuss to Maya Angelou to Ernest Hemingway to Marvel Comics, and also including Aotearoa authors such as Sir Tīmoti Kāretu and Witi Ihimaera. And last year saw the release of Airana Ngarewa’s bilingual collection of stories, Pātea Boys, with Moa. So Poto is situated in this dual-language space, and offers something new because of its accessibility. Here we have 100 authors – 100 voices. Each one has a unique way of approach the small story. Each one can be read quickly, or studied closely. We hope Poto will be used in schools and found on many shelves. We  encourage all ages to read it – the works are sophisticated storytelling, but we specifically looked at stories that could be shared with school-aged youth. And it’s excellent reading, as there are so many kinds of works here: narrative arcs and characters that sustain the story; prose poems that work in the realm of ideas; micros with a luminosity that hints at much more. In all of them, language is the driving force: we wanted to see a collection where the two languages, presented side-by-side on facing pages, will ignite excitement and curiosity.

The description for Short | Poto says ‘emotionally charged stories that punch well above their weight and length.’ Is that the overall aim of flash fiction? How do you think people will read this book – from cover to cover, or dipping in and out?

The short form is diverse in its range. As noted above, you might come to a story with dialogue and action; you might read a prose poem that captures a moment. Being small, this form has to punch above its weight – every word must do its own heavy lifting. With such a small space, economy and beauty work hand in hand. In the introduction, we write: Reading small stories is like Bill Manhire’s walk around the river bend in his ‘Lyrical ballad’: ‘You couldn’t see around the corner and then after a few steps you could.’ We love the sense of surprise a collection like this can hold. There is also movement and breath when we think of the flow of water. These stories are alive with inhalations and exhalations. This is how we hope readers will take in the book, too. There will be bends in the path, small moments of light, perhaps some shadow too. But always, when you turn the page, something new. We think it’s a book that can be dipped into – let serendipity be a guide; see where you land.

What has been the most rewarding about putting together this anthology? It must have been a massive job with 100 pieces in the collection, and also each being translated?

It was massive, yes – working with a team of 10 translators, and with 100 authors. There were so many rewarding moments along the way. In the end, holding the book in our hands has felt special – seeing these stories side by side on the page; the way the book itself invites us in to try both our official languages. We’ve heard from contributors how amazing it is to see their words translated into te reo Māori – for many, it’s the first time this has happened. That is very satisfying, as writers and readers and also as the book’s editors. We’ve also heard from many that it has given them a boost with their own path to learning te reo Māori. And we’ve heard from te reo teachers who say the book is a first of its kind in the way it can bring bite-sized worlds to language learners – it’s exciting to know that it is both useful and beautiful. And speaking of the ‘beauty’ of the book, we add here that our vision has been beautifully realised by the meticulous work done by designers, editors and the whole team at Massey University Press. 

Will you be holding launches or events around the country with the authors in the book?

We have held launch events and readings all around the country during June and July. We had major events in Ōtautahi, Tāmaki Makaurau, Ōtepoti and Te Whanganui-a-Tara, with smaller readings also taking place as part of National Flash Fiction Day in many other places. At the events, we’ve heard some of the stories read aloud in both languages, and that’s central to the book’s kaupapa. We encourage people to read the stories aloud; hearing the language is so important, and part of the learning. 

What’s next for Poto?

We hope the book will go far and wide into the world. It is a great fit for school curricula – whether secondary or university. We hope teachers will find it useful and students will find it encouraging. It’s also easy to put in your bag and carry with you. We’re also excited to hear more of the stories read aloud, and we’re working on that as next steps. Watch this space! Finally, a note about anthologies, and how they foster living and breathing communities. It’s a wonderful set of writers here – some names we know, some new. We love that a book like this can support writers who are novelists, poets, playwrights, essayists – they all come together here. From here, we hope the community around the concepts and realities of Poto will continue to grow.

Short | Poto: The big book of small stories | Iti te kupu, nui te kōrero, edited by Michelle Elvy and Kiri Piahana-Wong, Massey University Press, $45 RRP. Available in all good bookstores now.