Get Under the Covers With AA Rau

Wednesday March 16, 2011

Malcolm Mulholland, the author of award-winning rugby history Beneath the Māori Moon, is the special guest on this Sunday’s episode of AA RAU, the Māori Television show featuring books by or about Māori.

Mulholland’s book, the first comprehensive history of Māori rugby, became a best-seller and then a popular television series that screened on Māori Television in 2010. In this Rugby World Cup year, AA RAU presenter Niwa Milroy and Mulholland, a Massey University researcher, discuss what sparked the book – and Mulholland offers some frank assessments of the political controversies that have surrounded Māori rugby.

Milroy describes AA RAU (which means “from the pages”) as an accessible, intelligent programme that showcases Māori identity through books on heritage, culture, art, history, language and experience, as well as children’s books. “But it’s not just a Māori show,” she says. “It’s a really Kiwi show that covers a broad range of topics.”

The interviews are like relaxed, lengthy chats, she says – everyone sits on soft couches on a book-lined set. “The guests are all such down-to-earth and intelligent people who have had interesting lives, and the format allows us to really get to know them,” says Niwa, a keen reader who grew up bilingual.

Every episode includes reviews as well as author interviews. The show reflects New Zealand’s three official languages – it is presented in English and Māori with English subtitles, and both are translated into New Zealand Sign Language by Tania Simon, who is super-imposed in a corner of the screen.

Upcoming guests include authors Goldie expert Leonard Bell, children’s author Tina Makareti, poet Robert Sullivan, Māori architecture expert Deirdre Brown and historian Claudia Orange.

ENDS

© Scoop Media