Hinemoana Baker is a writer, musician, producer and teacher of creative writing. Her first book of poems, mātuhi | needle (2004), was published in New Zealand and in the US. Hinemoana’s poems have featured in Best New Zealand Poems and various other online and print anthologies. She has edited two collections of New Zealand poetry, Kaupapa: New Zealand poets, world issues and 4th Floor 2008, the online literary journal of Whitireia Polytechnic. She is currently finishing a new poetry collection called I’m sick of this place let’s get back on the canoe. She performs regularly as Taniwha with pop-rock sonic artist Christine White—the pair released a new album in March 2009.

Baker comments: ‘I wrote “Last Born” while watching Māori TV in my first week home after spending some time in Fiji. I had a brief writer’s residence in Suva in 2008, at the University of the South Pacific. Fiji was amazing, very affecting. When I came home I somehow felt more like a Māori writer than I ever have. I don’t even really know what that means, but that’s the best way I can describe it.

I would say “Last Born” works best when read out loud, with a wide smile on your face, while thinking of something that really annoys you.’