Apirana Taylor

Apirana Taylor (born 15 March 1955) is a New Zealand poet, novelist, performer, story-teller, musician and painter.

Born in Wellington, Apirana Taylor is of Pākehā and Māori descent with affiliations to Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Ruanui. He was a prominent member of the Māori theatre cooperative Te Ohu Whakaari. Taylor has published three volumes of poetry – Eyes of the Ruru (1979), Soft Leaf Falls of the Moon (1997) and Te Ata Kura; the red-tipped dawn (2004); three short-story collections; a novel, He Tangi Aroha (1993); and two plays. He was a runner-up for the Pegasus Book Award in 1985, for He Rau Aroha: A Hundred Leaves of Love.

• 3 shades, by Apirana Taylor, Lindsay Rabbitt, L.E. Scott; with an introduction by Alan Loney, Wellington: Voice Press, 1981
• Ki te ao: new stories, Penguin Books, 1990
• Te ata kura = The red tipped dawn, Canterbury University Press, 2004