Ataria Sharman
Sharman, Ataria (1990 - ) (Tapuika, Ngāpuhi) is a writer of essays, poetry and articles. Born and raised in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, she now lives in Hikurangi, Whangārei, Te Tai Tokerau.
Sharman has a Master of Arts in Māori Studies and spent a year researching mana wahine and atua wāhine as well as interviewing Māori women about their experiences with atua wāhine.
The manuscript for her children's fiction novel Hine and the Tohunga Portal was one of five selected for Te Papa Tupu writing mentorship programme in 2018 and went on to be published by Huia in 2021.
Hine and the Tohunga Portal leads the two tamariki Māori main characters, Hine and Hōhepa, into a world where moa and giant eagles still roam the forests but they’re under threat from an evil sorcerer.
In a review for Hooked on NZ Books, young reader Zelie describes it as “a very adventurous book… I love the jokes and the combat in the story and you feel and empathise with the characters instead of just reading about them. This is not the same as other books that I’ve read.”
For Kete, reviewer Dan Rabarts writes “by turns endearing and brutal, The Tohunga Portal has all the elements readers would expect of a mythic apocalyptic middle grade novel.”
The creator of Awa Wahine, an organisation that aims to uplift and creativity of wāhine Māori, Sharman has self-published a collection of writings on the atua wāhine as well as a printed magazine of work by the group.
In 2021, Sharman was the recipient of the Verb Festival micro residency in Wellington.
Sharman’s writing has been published on E-Tangata and her poetry featured in IHO: A Collaborative Exhibition about Māori Hair.
She currently works as editor of The Pantograph Punch, and has written a number of essays and reviews for the literature and arts website.
LINKS
Instagram: @atariasharman
Ataria’s writing for The Pantograph Punch
Interview on Starling
Interview on RNZ’s Standing Room Only
