Alan Duff

Alan Duff

Alan Duff (* 1950 in Rotorua , New Zealand ) is a New Zealand writer.

Life

Duff was born as the son of the European scientist Gowan Duff and the Maori Kuia Hinau in 1950 in Rotorua , New Zealand , where he also grew up. After his parents separated, he lived with various relatives before he was placed in a correctional home because of great difficulties. He processed his experiences there in his 1999 novel “Out of the Mist and Steam” . After this time he worked briefly as a plumber and then moved to London for a few years .

Back in New Zealand, he has been working as a freelance writer and columnist for various newspapers since 1985 . His criticisms of New Zealand politics are controversial and often open to discussion. A topic that he has taken up again and again, both in the form of a novel and in his columns, is the life of the indigenous people of New Zealand ( Maori ) today . He sees one of the reasons for their social problems in the lack of training opportunities. With the help of the "Books in Homes" aid program he set up in 1995, which gives 80,000 books to New Zealand children every year, he wants to improve the situation and, above all, combat problems such as illiteracy .

He achieved worldwide fame in 1990 with his novel " Once were Warriors " , for which he received the PEN Best First Book Award . The novel was made into a film with Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen . The novels “ What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? " And " Jake's Long Shadow " are the sequels to " Once were Warriors " . "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?" Was filmed in 1999. Alan Duff was not only the producer of this film alongside Temuera Morrison, he also wrote the script for it.

Today Alan Duff lives in France with his wife .

Works

• Once Were Warriors, Tandem, Auckland, 1990
• One Night out Stealing, Tandem, Auckland, 1991
  • Warriors , translated from the English by Gabriele Pauer; Unionsverlag, Zurich 2008 ISBN 978-3-293-20428-7
• Maori: The Crisis and the Challenge, HarperCollins, Auckland, 1993
• What Becomes of the Broken Hearted ?, Vintage, Auckland, 1996
• Out of the Mist and Steam, Tandem, Auckland, 1999
• Jake's Long Shadow, Vintage, Auckland, 2002
• Dreamboat Dad, Vintage, Auckland, 2008
• Who sings for Lu ?, Vintage, Auckland, 2009

Film adaptations

• 1994: Once Were Warriors ( Once were warriors ) - Director: Lee Tamahori
• 1999: What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? - Directed by Ian Mune

Web links

• Literature by and about Alan Duff in the catalog of the German National Library
• Alan Duff in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• New Zealand Literature File - Alan Duff research facility
• Peter Lohmann: The writer Alan Duff. Radio report, November 2003
• Hobbit film in New Zealand Jackson's dream world, a denunciation of reality , Alan Duff in the Süddeutsche Zeitung on December 24, 2012