Rawiri Paratene – 1983

As a writer and director in television, and as an actor, Rawiri Paratene's work during his time as the Burns Fellow in 1983 focused very much in that medium. Indeed, many of the projects worked on in 1983 came to fruition later: Erua (1988), which won him the New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Writer in 1989, and the teleplay/screenplay Dead Certs (1995), for which he received the New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Actor in 1996. However, he did a few poetry performances around town. 'Dunedin Waking Up' was one such poem.

Rawiri Paratene, 'Dunedin Waking Up…' Typescript. Dunedin, 1983. Private Collection.