Seasoned Self, Disclosing Self: On Memoir

Memory is both precious and precarious. What does it take to access memories that are buried deep in the past, still being made sense of in the present, and to share them with care, responsibility, and imagination? Elizabeth Knox’s transcendent memoir, Night, Ma, from which this session takes its title, moves between childhood and the present after years of family calamity; in Joseph Trinidad’s Lucky Creatures, he reflects with humour and warmth on migration, identity, and family lore; and Giving Birth to My Father by Tusiata Avia unfolds overwhelming loss through a richly imagined, then real, poetic narrative. Working across different forms, these writers generously open up intimate worlds. Emma Ng joins them to discuss the ethics of writing memory, capturing real lives into art, and the slippery, abstract nature of memory itself. Verb's official Festival Bookseller, Unity Books will be on-site bookselling, and the featured authors will be book signing after the event. This event is part of the 2026 Verb Readers & Writers Festival. Please see verbwellington.nz for more information. Festival Passes are a great way to save money and enjoy the full festival experience: just $80 for a 4-event pass. They are available until midday Thursday 24 September. Many thanks to our generous funders, sponsors and members of Verb Community in supporting Verb Readers & Writers Festival 2026.