Alan Duff
Alan Duff MBE | |
---|---|
Born | Rotorua, New Zealand | 26 October 1950
Occupation | Author |
Genre | Fiction |
Notable works | (film) |
Alan Duff
Biography
Alan Duff was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, the son of forestry scientist Gowan Duff (1910–1995), known as Pat, and Hinau Josephine Duff (née Raimona), known as Kuia, of Ngāti Rangitihi and Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent, and grandson of writer Oliver Duff (1883–1967). He was born and raised in a State housing area in Rotorua. Oliver Duff was a writer and foundation editor of the New Zealand Listener,[1] and Duff inherited his grandfather's love of literature.[2]
Duff's parents separated when he was 10, and Duff moved in with a Māori uncle and aunt at Whakarewarewa. He wrote at some length about his troubled childhood in his 1999 memoir, Out of the Mist and the Steam.[3][4] Many of these experiences informed his novel Once Were Warriors.
Duff was expelled from his school Rotorua Boys' High School and ran away from home, ending up as a State ward at Hamilton Boys' Home. Later he lived with another uncle, anthropologist Roger Duff, and went back to school at Christchurch Boys' High School. At 15 he was sentenced to a term in Waikeria Borstal for assault and breaking and entering.
After leaving school, Duff worked as an installer of sheet metal insulation and sang in a band. He had a partner, with whom he had two children.[3]
In the late 1970s, Duff lived in England. He worked as an installer of sheet metal insulation, then as a barman and bar manager. However, he then again migrated to a criminal life, and in 1979 was sentenced to 19 months in jail. While in England, Duff had a partner, Paula, and daughter, Katea.[3]
Duff began writing full-time in 1985 and had Once Were Warriors published in 1990.
Writing
Duff began to write full-time in 1985. He tried writing a thriller as his first novel, but it was rejected. He burned the manuscript and started writing
One Night Out Stealing, appeared in 1991 and was shortlisted in the 1992
Duff was awarded the
State Ward started as a series of episodes on radio in 1993 and was published as a novella in 1994.
The Duffy Books in Homes scheme, co-founded in 1995 by Duff and Christine Fernyhough, with commercial sponsorship and government support, aims to alleviate poverty and illiteracy by providing low-cost books to underprivileged children, thus encouraging them to read. In its first year alone it put about 180,000 new books in the hands of about 38,000 children. By 2008, the scheme delivered 5 million books to schools around New Zealand.[5]
Duff regularly writes for the
Published works
- Once Were Warriors. 1990.[7]
- One Night Out Stealing. 1991.
- State Ward. 1994.
- ISBN 9781869413101.[8]
- Two Sides of the Moon. 1998.
- Out of the Mist and the Steam. 1999.
- Alan Duff's Maori heroes. 2000. ISBN 186941425X.[9]
- Szabad. 2001.
- Jake's Long Shadow. 2002.[10]
- Who Sings for Lu?. 2009.
- A Conversation with my Country. 2019. ISBN 9780143773269.[11]
Personal life
In September 2007, he was arrested while speeding near
In the
On 16 June 2011, Duff declared himself
References
- ^ "Duff, Oliver". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
1883–1967
- ^ "Dear Dad". listener.co.nz. 2011. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
Gowan Duff
- ^ a b c Duff, Alan (1999). Out of the Mist and the Steam.
- ^ Crowl, Mike (1999). "Out of the Mist & Steam" (Review). geocities. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Shepheard, Nicola (8 June 2008). "Cops stir 'warrior' in Duff". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- ^ "Alan Duff - NZ Herald". Archived from the original on 29 June 2015.
- ^ Thompson, K. M. (2003). "Once Were Warriors: New Zealand's first indigenous blockbuster". In Stringer, J. (ed.). Movie Blockbusters. London: Routledge. pp. 230–241.
- ISBN 9781869413101. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
- ISBN 186941425X.
- ^ Thomson, Margie (6 November 2002). "Alan Duff: Jake's Long Shadow". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ISBN 9780143773269.
- ^ Caspari, Abigail (1 April 2008). "Author Duff swung policewoman by handcuffs, court told". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- ^ "Duff wins court battle against police". Otago Daily Times. 6 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- Television One. 11 September 2009. Archived from the originalon 13 June 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ^ "No. 53894". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1994. p. 34.
- The Dominion Post. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- ^ "Alan Duff: Get it on for Maori, odd couple". The New Zealand Herald. 24 July 2014.