A young Māori man who becomes a living exhibit in Victorian London society in the 1840s is at the heart of The Imaginary Lives of James Poneke - a new novel by Kapiti writer Tina Makereti.
Following her acclamed 2024 book Where the Rekohu Bone Sings, the story of James Poneke is very loosely based on tales of Māori people travelling to the UK in the 19th century only to find themselves being stared and laughed at rather than respected.
In Makereti's novel, Poneke finds himself installed in a London exhibition of strange artefacts, oddities and freaks assembled for the amusement of wealthy visitors.
Tina Makereti tells Lynn Freeman that, while James Poneke is fictional, his story isn't quite.
Tina's previous books include the novel Where the Rekohu Bone Sings and a short story collection, Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa.
