i’m really grateful to essa may ranapiri for making time in what is a really busy year to chat with me about their amazing book Puke out today with Te Herenga Waka University Press i have been a long-time fan of essa’s work. One of the most exciting things for me about receiving a copy of Puke is putting it next to ransack (2019) and ECHIDNA (2022) because together they form this incredible body of work. There’s a line in essa’s author bio which i have written on a PostIt note and stuck next to my desk where i can read it often. That line is: ‘They will write until they’re dead.’ i think sometimes the things around writing can get distracting and there is something about this simple statement that essa makes which helps me shut out all that noise and pare everything down to what is important.
Puke is one of the most thrilling reading experiences i’ve had this year. This is an incredibly exciting reimagining of the novel in verse which is quickly becoming my favourite form. i loved it from the first page to the last. It is this amazingly astute and beautiful knife-edge balance of a number of forms which uses the tension between them to such amazing affect. Puke imagines – through the sense of ‘all time’ essa creates – the moments before, during and after the violence of colonisation and colonialism. Puke creates a complicated and accurate relationship with hope and despair that mirrors our present moment and offers an opportunity to challenge what i’ve been shown and what i see.
There are some awesome events coming up a good place to keep up with these is by following essa’s publisher Te Herenga Waka University Press on Instagram or subscribing to the Te Herenga Waka UP newsletter
essa also has a website
This podcast was recorded at Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui on 21 September 2026 and originally podcast on 5 November 2026.
SPOTLIGHT: MANA TIPUA
From Mana Tipua KAUPAPA:
Mana Tipua is a kaupapa Māori organisation led by takatāpui, and is the only rangatahi takatāpui focussed organisation in Waitaha. Our purpose is to tautoko (support) the hauora (health & wellbeing) and mana of rangatahi takatāpui and their whānau, including all Māori with diverse genders, sexualities, and sex characteristics to enable them to flourish in the fullness of their identity.
We seek to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes by providing opportunities for rangatahi to engage in mātauranga and tikanga Māori and taonga tuku iho practices. We provide social connection opportunities, informal education, and assist with health and wellbeing pathways. We also work to advocate, educate, develop takatāpui focussed resources, and foster collaborative opportunities.
We know kanohi ki te kanohi wānanga is important for the exchange of hā and mātauranga and have designed our programme to reflect this. Our Te Kōurunui sessions on Sundays connect rangatahi with Tohunga, Ringatoi, Ringapuoro, and other cultural experts, many of whom are takatāpui themselves. We also have a community of takatāpui pakeke and kaumātua who support the rōpū.
The ingoa Mana Tipua honours Dr. Elizabeth Kerekere’s academic and activist mahi that strengthens our whānau takatāpui community. Mana is not translatable into English but is a foundational aspect of Te Ao Māori. It is key to every aspect of life, including people, places, and things. Tipua refers to the shape shifting nature of our takatāpui whānau who move through the world in ways that are outside the Western norm – whether that’s trans or intersex people living their truth, or fluid sexualities that we have inherited from our tīpuna.
Mana Tipua was established in 2023 following a Takatāpui Taiohi Ora Hui run at Rehua Marae in by InsideOUT Koaro. Community engagement at this hui identified a need for a Te Waipounamu (South Island) based kaupapa Māori service to support – Māori aged 12-25 who are also LGBTQIA+.
You can support Better off Read financially at Buy Better off Read a Coffee
Music in Better off Read was made by Brent McIntyre.
How to listen to Better off Read
Better off Read is also available on PodBean
An RSS code is available here so you can listen on the podcasting app you like most.
Or listen here:
