Polynesian Legends
by A. Stanley Sherratt
A. Stanley Sherratt's powerful early sequence of Māori myths/legends has remained unpublished since 1924, when it was first serialized in the Christchurch Star.
Discovered in 2013 by editor Mark Pirie who has republished the text, this new publication includes an introduction by Māori literary scholar Dr Michael O'Leary, giving details of Sherratt's life along with a brief history of Aotearoa legend telling in English.
"Earl of Seacliff and Mark Pirie are to be commended for unearthing this valuable trove of Pākehā representations of Māori mythology and legend, not merely because they have never been committed to print in any sequential book format previously, but more especially because the representations contained within are manifestly without the devious elaborations and misguided romantic capital (Curnow, 1960) of many of Sherratt's near contemporaries such as Domett. Indeed, Sherratt, for all his iambic pentameter and rhyming couplet, remains true to the Weltanschauung of the original and oral Indigenous élan of these mighty vignettes. Ka nui te pai te mahi kei konei!" - Vaughan Rapatahana
| Title | Polynesian Legends |
|---|---|
| Author | A. Stanley Sherratt |
| Publisher | HeadworX/Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop |
| Category | New Zealand Poetry |
| Format | Paperback |
| Extent | 44 pages |
| ISBN | 978-1- 86942-141-0 |
| Price | NZ$15.00 |
| Release | November 2013 |