Ia Literary Journal
ABOUT
About Ia Journal
Ia literary journal is the brain child of three university friends, Jess, George and Zoe who worked together on the university magazine and wanted a way to continue and expand on what and how they were creating together.
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The name 'ia' is te reo, and can mean each, every, flow, current, beat or trend. Jess and Zoe chose the name out of a feeling of need to re-connect with their roots. For Jess, this meant researching her whakapapa, learning where she comes from and who she is the descendant of, and learning te reo. For Zoe, this meant re-connecting with her child-hood spent in the heart of the East Coast, and learning anew the significance of the experiences and learnings gained from this time in Ngati Porou.
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Ia Journal then grew out of a desire to undo the need for meritocracy in the publishing world, provide a service to those who wish to publish but would like support in doing so, and to facilitate a dialogue that gives space for cultural change in Aotearoa. Today, Ia journal has a particular focus on creating a space for de-colonisation, through becoming a space that upholds and is used by local artists, respects the whakapapa and mana of maori cultural practices and art and encourages healthy, vibrant discussion.
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Jess has since devoted herself to her poetry and art as the Maori_Mermaid (@maori_mermaid) on instagram. I would like to thank Jess for her art that was the first logo of Ia Journal. Go check her out, tautoko her, she's is way maker, and boy is it an incredible journey!
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George is now working toward completing his bar exams.
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Zoe is now working toward post-graduate psychology qualifications.
About the change of website.
Ia Literary Journal ran for six months from an older website that can be viewed here:
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After consideration, and a lot of fiddling with domain name rules, we decided that the above domain was no-longer telling of the platform we were trying to grow.
We would like to thank everyone who contributed in these early days, and believed in us, even with such ramshackle organisation!
About Ia's Team
Zoe is presently the primary facilitator of Ia Literary Journal. She is pictured with the whole loaf of rewana bread that she routinely eats on her birthday.
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"I like to steer away from the term 'editor', as I don't agree with the idea that one person gets to pick and choose what does or does not go to publish. Instead I hope to be the vector through which you publish your work, making your job easier by formatting and running the website, organising events and other administrative services.
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I am a published poet, though I have taken a year off writing following the completion of an MA in English. I have studied post-colonial literary studies and New Zealand literature, and by a matter of coincidence discovered than many themes and key discussions in the field matched many experiences that I expressed in my poetry. I was honoured to be given the Rhys Brookbanks scholarship for poetry, and an Excellence in English MA Coursework Scholarship. I also worked at Te Arohi - Critic, the OUSA student magazine, as a columnist, writing advisor, reviewer and as the OUSA poetry judge alongside Jess.
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My MA is on the ethics of representing neurological disorders in literary texts, and is the culmination of my BSc in neuroscience and my BA in English (that focused on post-colonialism).
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I have also undertaken an internship with UNESCO Dunedin City of Literature, conducting oral histories and interviews with local authors. I continue to find great value in face to face story telling.
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Throughout university I worked as an English tutor for undergraduate and post-graduate students.
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I am currently studying post-graduate psychology, and one day hope to return to the East Coast, to give back to the community and the land that has been so influential in my life.
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