André Ngāpō
Writer
Biography
When I was young, I loved to write. Rhymes and rhythms were my favourite. Rewind to 1989. All the boys liked MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, and we would rap for hours. I discovered that my voice, a pencil and a piece of paper were all tools, ready to map out whole worlds of words.
When I was fourteen, I won an essay competition. I had written in my voice, using my thoughts and my feelings in a way that I would speak. I had tried to be poetic in my essay, using rhyme, rhythm, simile, metaphor, personification, and especially imagery. The topic was Gallipoli, and my prize was a trip to the Beehive to meet the Prime Minister as well as Sir Charles Upham, Princess Anne, and a Gallipoli veteran at the Anzac commemorations. All of this from writing my words!
Years later I went to music school and studied songwriting. I got to play with words all day. It was tricky sometimes – making sure the words sounded correct and made sense – but it was great.
I also loved to read, and I would read and read and read. I discovered amazing writers like Lewis Carroll, Margaret Mahy, Patricia Grace, and Dr. Seuss. So many stories! All of these writers knew the power of words to get people thinking; to get them feeling, laughing, and even crying.
In 2001, I became a teacher, and a dad. I would read to my classes, and to my sons. They loved the words and loved the rhymes. I’d read stories over, countless times. And I really enjoyed how words rolled off my tongue. And I thought, “One day, I think I’d quite like to write for the young.”
My first success with story writing was in a competition, the Sunday Star Times Short Story Competition in 2008. I wrote about a couple of young boys with tough lives and big hearts. I wrote about what I knew, where I’d come from, and things I’d seen in my life. Again, I wrote with a strong voice. Some of the things my characters said and did are not what I would say or do, but their voices and the voice of the narrator were clear. I was so excited when my story won – I didn't really believe it at first. It was the first short story I had ever written. My friends suggested I think about writing some more stories, and I agreed that it was a good idea. I have entered more competitions, and though I haven’t won, practising writing helps you get better and better at it. Competitions give me a goal to work towards. So I keep on entering those competitions, and I tell all writers I meet to find competitions that inspire and motivate them, and to have a go!
More exciting news followed my Sunday Star Times Short Story Competition win. I received an email from Learning Media, who publish the School Journal. Could I please have a go at writing some stories for Learning Media? Definitely, I replied. My first story, “Aunty's Raw Fish”, was published in School Journal Part 4, Number 1, 2010. My Nanna, my sons, and my family were very proud. And I know my Uncle Mark, who inspired the character of Aunty, would be proud of me too. He loved words. He loved to tell stories in his gentle voice. And I even have his old pencil and his blank paper tucked away in a container, reminding me that worlds of words are always near.