Miria George | Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency

Writer, producer and director Mīria George is the first Cook Islands artist to receive the Fulbright- Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency at the University of Hawaii.

Mīria is of Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Kuki Airani (Rarotonga & Atiu) heritage and is the co-director of Tawata Productions. Mīria travels to O’ahu, Hawai’i to develop Fire In The Water, Fire In The Sky, a performance piece which addresses colonisation, christianity and climate change in the Pacific.  A uniquely Pasifika journey that charts precolonisation, to the suffocating grasp of the missionaries, to the return of the islanders not born of their islands. In modern times, the arrival of neo liberalism into Te Moana Nui a Kiva will challenge our sovereignty and the further exploitation of natural resources by multinationals. Fire In The Water, Fire In The Sky is the search for hope for the future of the Pacific and the world.

Mīria is a poet, and writer for theatre, radio and television. An award-winning playwright, Mīria’s work has toured New Zealand, Australia, Hawai’i, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2007, and what remains marked Mīria’s international debut as a playwright. Her other works include Oho Ake, He Reo Aroha, Urban Hymns and Sunset Road. He Reo Aroha, co-written with Jamie McCaskill, has toured extensively internationally. In 2016, Mīria premiered her new play The Vultures, an indigenous satire. Mīria holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters. Also a published poet, The Wet Season is Mīria’s debut collection of poetry, published by the Wai-te-ata Press. Mīria is a co-founder of Tawata Productions and Tawata Press.

Image of MÄ«ria George by Louise Hatton Photography