Keri Hulme
Keri Hulme (1947–2021) was a New Zealand novelist and poet best known for The Bone People, which won the 1985 Booker Prize.
The Bone People: Keri Hulme’s 1984 novel follows an isolated artist, a Māori man, and his mute foster son. This novel brought Hulme international recognition and the Booker Prize.
Christchurch: The largest city in New Zealand’s South Island and the Canterbury region’s principal urban centre. Hulme was born in Christchurch in 1947.
John Calder: A Scottish publisher who founded Calder Publications and published influential works of modern literature. Calder published The Bone People after other publishers had rejected it.
1985 Booker Prize: The Booker Prize awarded in 1985 to Keri Hulme for The Bone People. The award transformed Hulme’s novel from a difficult-to-place manuscript into an international success.
Lost Possessions: A collection of Keri Hulme’s short fiction, published in 1985. It shows Hulme developing stories beyond the novel that brought her fame.
Māori literature: Writing by Māori authors, shaped by Māori histories, languages, communities, and cultural perspectives. Hulme’s Māori heritage and the novel’s cultural setting inform her literary context.
Kāi Tahu: The principal Māori iwi of New Zealand’s South Island, also known as Ngāi Tahu. Hulme identified with Kāi Tahu ancestry, among several strands of her family heritage.
John Murray (publisher): A British publishing house founded in the eighteenth century and later part of Hachette UK. John Murray brought The Bone People to a wider British readership.
Indigenous literature: Literature created by Indigenous peoples, often engaging with their languages, histories, and sovereignty. Hulme’s recognition expanded discussion of Māori writing within international literary institutions.
Te Kaihau: The Windeater: A 1986 collection of poetry by Keri Hulme. The collection displays the poetic practice that accompanied Hulme’s fiction.