Culture is the gift one generation passes to the next though song, dance, and story. It resonates with every heartbeat, movement, and breath. We are shaped by these experiences, transformed by our culture, and when we share our stories, we have the power to teach empathy, uproot racism, and inspire mindful revolution.

 

In this collection of short stories and poetry, diverse Aotearoa-New Zealand authors embrace their culture in the context of their identity. Writing loudly into the silence of the page, they remind us that everyone has a story to share about how they found themselves still standing.

 

With a foreword by Victor Rodger, and stories and poems by Sarah Dunn, Jean Gilbert, Dan Rabarts, Isaiah Tour, Shriya Bhagwat, Kyle Mewburn, Ikey Ihaka Tunui, Gina Cole, Lee Murray, M.L.E. Brown, Sally McLennan, Jack Remiel Cottrell, Hina Tabassum Cheema, Donna McLeod, Piper Mejia, and Jade Kake, and by student writers Elizabeth Chua, Emma Sio, Jacob Hagan, Kevin Lee, Sian McIlroy, Rebecca Talsma, and Robbie Murray.

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Cover art by Grace Bridges