Gerry Te Kapa Coates

Gerry Te Kapa Coates (Ngai Tahu) was born in Oamaru, but has lived in Wellington for most of his working life. He has been a writer since schooldays, initially concentrating on poetry with work published in journals like Landfall. He works as an engineer and company director, but has done many varied and creative things in his career  from journalism and stage lighting design to working with Ngai Tahu and Te Tau Ihu on their claim settlements. A past published finalist in the Maori Literature (Pikihuia) Awards in 2001, 2003 and 2007, his book of poetry and short stories ‘The View From Up There’ was published in 2011. He is now working on further collections and longer works including a novel. He finds that working − and looking after mokopuna − still take their creative toll.