Alan Duff (b. 1950) is a New Zealand novelist, newspaper columnist, and polemicist.

Ancestry and upbringing

Son of Gowan Duff (father) - a scientist - and Kuia Hinau (mother) (of Ngati Rangitihi and Tuwharetoa), and grandson of writer Oliver Duff, he was born and raised in a State housing area in Rotorua, New Zealand. In New Zealand state housing is the system of public housing offered to citizens unable to afford private rents. ... Rotorua is a city located on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. ...

His parents separated when he was 10, and Duff moved in with a Maori uncle and aunt at Whakarewarewa. He 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. Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ... Jump to: navigation, search Whakarewarewa is a geothermal area within Rotorua city in the Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand. ... See Anthropology. ...

Borstal and early adulthood

At 15 he was sentenced to a term in Waikeria Borstal for assault and breaking and entering. Later he worked as an installer of sheet-metal insulation and sang in a band. After numerous convictions for petty offences, Duff went to London. He has said this is where he "messed up but grew up". London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...

Writing

Duff ran various businesses of his own back in New Zealand and began to write full-time in 1985. Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year. ...

He tried writing a thriller as his first novel, but it was rejected. He burned the manuscript and started writing Once Were Warriors, which had an immediate and great impact. The novel is written in juxtaposed interior monologues, making its style stand out from other works. It was winner of the PEN Best First Book Award, was runner-up in the Goodman Fielder Wattie Award, and has been made into the award-winning film of the same name (1994). Once Were Warriors - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

Another of his novels, One Night Out Stealing, appeared in 1991 and shortlisted in the 1992 Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards. Jump to: navigation, search 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1992 was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

He was also awarded the Frank Sargeson Fellowship in 1991, and began writing a weekly -- later bi-weekly -- column for the Evening Post (Wellington newspaper), syndicated to eight other newspapers. In this, and in his 1993 analysis, Maori: The Crisis and the Challenge, he has developed his ideas on the failures of Maoridom, castigating both the traditional leadership and the radical movement for dwelling on the injustices of the past and expecting others to resolve them, instead of encouraging Maori to get on and help themselves. The blame for Maori underperformance he puts squarely back on Maori, for not making the most of the opportunities given them. This somewhat simplistic message has proved highly controversial. Jump to: navigation, search 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

State Ward started as a series of episodes on radio in 1993 and was published as a novella in 1994. Jump to: navigation, search 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... A novella is a short, narrative, prose fiction work. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

The Books in Homes scheme, launched in 1995 by Duff with commercial sponsorship and government support, aims to alleviate poverty and illiteracy by providing low-cost books to underpriviledged 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. Jump to: navigation, search 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1996), the sequel to Once Were Warriors, was the winner of the fiction section of the 1997 Montana Book Awards and was also made in to a film (1999) Jump to: navigation, search 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1997(MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1999(MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Two Sides of the Moon was published in 1998. Jump to: navigation, search 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Duff wrote his own memoir, Out of the Mist and the Steam, in 1999. Jump to: navigation, search 1999(MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

His first novel to be set outside of New Zealand is Szabad (2001). Inspired by the stories of people Duff met during his several trips to Hungary, the story takes place in Budapest during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Jump to: navigation, search 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Budapest seen from north. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hungarians investigate a disabled Soviet tank in Budapest The 1956 Hungarian Revolution, also known as the Hungarian Uprising or simply the Hungarian Revolt, was a revolt in Hungary lasting from 23 October to 4 November 1956. ...

Jake's Long Shadow (2002) is the third volume in Duff's Once Were Warriors Trilogy. Jump to: navigation, search 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2003 Once Were Warriors was brought to the stage across New Zealand as a musical drama. Jump to: navigation, search 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Interview with Alan Duff
• Alan Duff's Once Were Warriors -- Social and Political Contexts