Reef Shark

Andre Breton and Keiji, with notes by Scott Hamilton RS: This new translation of Andre Breton's poem Rano Raraku was supplied by Indonesian-Australian activist and linguist Keiji, whose translated documents from Indonesia's 2025 uprising were featured in an earlier Reef Shark post. Notes by Scott Hamilton follow the poem. Rano Raraku How beautiful the world is when Greece never existed when the Persians did not pass My horse is grazing at the bottom of a crater The bird-men follow the...

Scott Hamilton This photo, taken from Te Ara's website, shows Pat Hanly working in 1977 on Prelude to a Journey, a mural for Auckland's international airport. Shamefully the mural was removed in 1996 when the airport was redesigned. In 1975 Pat completed another set of huge paintings for the University of Auckland's medical school. Called The Seven Ages of Man, they still grace the school. I was thinking about Pat Hanly on the weekend because the bright winter sunlight pouring onto our...

Scott Hamilton In an article published in the May-June issue of New Zealand Geographic, Kate Evans asserts that 'across Polynesia, pā are extremely rare'. I don't think her magazine has many readers in Rapa Iti, which is just as well, because they'd be pretty confused by that claim. Rapa Iti island is famous amongst archaeologists for the spectacular terraced forts that top almost all its hills. Visitors to Rapa Iti have often remarked on how much the island resembles Aotearoa's far north,...