Editing New Zealand literature (section)

===Early works: pre-1870===
{{See also|Early New Zealand Books}}
[[File:Bul01BirdP020.jpg|thumb|Illustrations of the [[morepork]] (left) and the extinct [[laughing owl]] (right) by [[John Gerrard Keulemans]] in [[Walter Buller]]'s ''A History of the Birds of New Zealand''. 2nd edition. Published 1888.|left|upright]]
[[Polynesia]]n settlers began arriving in New Zealand in the late 13th or early 14th century, and became known as [[Māori people|Māori]] developing a distinct culture, including oral myths, legends, poetry, songs ([[Māori music#Waiata|waiata]]), and prayers. Public speaking on the [[marae]], a communal and sacred gathering place, was (and remains) a particularly important part of Māori culture, and performance was a key part of the oral tradition; for example the [[Karanga (Māori culture)|karanga]] (a ceremonial call) as part of the [[pōwhiri]] (welcoming ceremony).<ref name="Brit CK"/> The first book published in [[Māori language]] was in 1815 called ''A korao (korero) no New Zealand; or, the New Zealander's first book; being an attempt to compose some lessons for the instruction of the natives,'' printed in Sydney and written by Thomas Kendell in collaboration with Tuai, a young chief.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Alison |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126124833 |title=He Kōrero: Words Between Us: First Māori–Pākehā Conversations on Paper |last2=Jenkins |first2=Kuni Kaa |date=2011-01-01 |publisher=Huia Publishers |language=English}}</ref> Kendell, chief [[Hongi Hika]], his nephew [[Waikato (rangatira)|Waikato]] and linguist [[Samuel Lee (linguist)|Samuel Lee]] developed a systematic written form of Māori language at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] in England in 1820.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas Kendall with Hongi Hika |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/thomas-kendall-painting |website=New Zealand History |publisher=Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-date=16 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216151741/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/thomas-kendall-painting |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Page 2 – History of the Māori language |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/history-of-the-maori-language |website=New Zealand History |publisher=Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=22 March 2021 |archive-date=6 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406153541/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/history-of-the-maori-language |url-status=live }}</ref> The first printing press arrived in New Zealand in 1834, and the first book printed in New Zealand was a Māori translation of a [[catechism]] in 1830 by [[William Yate]], ''Ko Te Katikihama III''.<ref>{{DNZB|Binney|Judith|1y1|Yate, William|15 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ko nga katikihama e wa: ka oti nei te wakamaori ki te reo o Nu Tirani |url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/21370046 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901042328/https://natlib.govt.nz/records/21370046 |archive-date=1 September 2021 |access-date=15 February 2021 |website=National Library of New Zealand}}</ref>

In New Zealand, as European settlers arrived, they collected many Māori oral stories and poems, which were translated into English and published, such as ''Polynesian Mythology'' (1855) by [[George Grey]] and ''Maori Fairy Tales'' (1908) by [[Johannes Andersen (librarian)|Johannes Andersen]]. These stories, such as those about the god [[Māui (Māori mythology)|Māui]], became widely known among the non-Māori population of New Zealand as well as the Māori people.<ref name="Brit CK" /> A foundation was also laid for future Māori literature through Māori newspapers, Māori histories and literature associated with Māori religions, such as the [[Rātana]] and [[Pai Mārire]] movements.<ref name="Roots">{{cite web |last1=Holman |first1=Jeffrey Paparoa |title=Roots of Māori fiction – Story: Māori fiction – ngā tuhinga paki |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/maori-fiction-nga-tuhinga-paki/page-1 |website=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=17 February 2021 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201145243/https://teara.govt.nz/en/maori-fiction-nga-tuhinga-paki/page-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 19th century, most [[Pākehā]] New Zealanders saw themselves as British, and most publications were written by British authors for a British audience. While the first uses of the term "New Zealand literature" appeared in the 1860s, it was used in an aspirational sense; it took time for a distinctly New Zealand literature to develop.<ref name="Brit CK" /><ref name="Mercer">{{cite journal |last1=Mercer |first1=Erin |title='Slumming Among the Gravestones': Elizabeth Knox's "Daylight" and the New Zealand Canon |journal=Journal of New Zealand Literature |date=2013 |issue=31 |pages=130–149 |jstor=41939307 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41939307 |access-date=19 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="The 19th">{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Jock |title=The 19th century – Story: Arts and the nation |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/arts-and-the-nation/page-1 |website=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=15 February 2021 |date=22 October 2014 |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928025219/https://teara.govt.nz/en/arts-and-the-nation/page-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>  Early New Zealand books were generally narratives of visits and travel to New Zealand, such as ''A Narrative of a Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand in 1827'' (1832) by [[Augustus Earle]] or ''Station Life in New Zealand'' (1870) by [[Mary Anne Barker]],<ref>{{cite web |editor-last1=McLintock |editor-first1=A.H. |last1=Hall |first1=David Oswald William |title=LITERATURE |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/literature |website=An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966 |publisher=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220171221/https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/literature |url-status=live }}</ref> or scientific works such as ''The New Zealanders Illustrated'', a rare book by natural history artist [[George French Angas]] (1847) and ''A History of the Birds of New Zealand'' (1872) by ornithologist [[Walter Buller]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The New Zealanders Illustrated |url=https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/1417875 |website=Te Papa Tongarewa |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-date=20 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220040735/https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/1417875 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A History of the birds of New Zealand / by Walter Lawry Buller. 1873 |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/1057025/a-history-of-the-birds-of-new-zealand-by-walter-lawry-buller |website=The Royal Collection Trust |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920105342/https://www.rct.uk/collection/1057025/a-history-of-the-birds-of-new-zealand-by-walter-lawry-buller |url-status=live }}</ref> Early expressions of New Zealand identity in literature included, notably, ''Old New Zealand'' by "a [[Pākehā Māori|Pakeha Maori]]" ([[Frederick Edward Maning]]) and ''[[Erewhon]]'' by [[Samuel Butler (novelist)|Samuel Butler]], which drew on the author's experiences of living in [[Canterbury Region|Canterbury]] for five years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wevers |first1=Lydia |title=Erewhon – Story: Fiction |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/41911/erewhon |website=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=16 February 2021 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101132045/https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/41911/erewhon |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="The 19th" />