Irihapeti told her story in Chapter 3 of her PhD thesis, which I can no longer find online. So, by way of celebration, here’s a story, addressing Jessica’s questions. And Keri told me that although her American publisher had put out a celebratory edition last year, there’d been no celebration in New Zealand. A quarter century since the bone people won the Booker Prize (me) more than a quarter century since Spiral published it, on 18 February 1984 (Keri). And the way we confirmed who we were was with dates. She thought I might be me I wasn’t there as Wellywoodwoman. I didn’t recognize Keri at first, because she wasn’t there as Keri Hulme. And inevitable because New Zealand is soooo small. Inevitable that there were a few accidents there, with that slap slap slap of comments down the page (where I lurked now and then to read what other writers and filmmakers were saying). Then, I had a request from American student Jessica Brandi through LinkedIn: would I answer some questions about the bone people, from a publishing viewpoint?Īnd then, last week, Keri Hulme and I fell over each other at the Public Address Hobbit party. Then, the other day, I posted about Keri Kaa and remembered her work for the bone people launch. Did we tuck it inside the book, along with the piece of heather a gypsy gave me, when Miriama and I were coming back from Moss Bros? And it was surprising and weird to hold the leather-bound copy of the bone people they gave us, but wonderful later to pack it into a kete for Keri. We wanted to talk about the generosity and love that had brought the bone people and us to the Booker ceremony, but we were not permitted to speak (probably a time thing: it was televised and Keri was on the line to speak, from the States). No-one knew what to make of Miriama's and Irihapeti's karanga (we were described as 'keening harpies' later, in one newspaper). Irihapeti Ramsden, Marian Evans, Miriama Evans, after the Booker Prize ceremony 1985

The Bone People by Keri Hulme