Books by Maris O'Rourke

Born on a small island in Scotland to a local girl and an Australian serviceman, raised in a working class, dysfunctional, often violent, itinerant household around the UK and Europe, O'Rourke rose to become the Secretary for Education for New Zealand, the Director of Education a...t the World Bank, an International Education Consultant and an author of six books. It is a story of constant perseverance, reinvention and transformation as O'Rourke makes difficult choices and juggles her professional and personal responsibilities, especially mothering. The book outlines possibilities and ways of women living outside the conventions of what is usually expected by society, without stepping aside from acceptance, love and success. As a memoir it is composed of vignettes of her life, short stories, photographs, newspaper cuttings, interviews, graphic novel excerpts and poems which, together, create a fascinating interlay. The narrative takes the reader from the birth of her first grandchild, back into the past (beginning with her search for her whakapapa) and delving deeper into her early years through to her formative years. She then traverses the important influences, relationships, hard lessons learned and joyful experiences in her professional, physical, personal and political life - before returning full circle to the present, where the lessons she has learned are laid bare. Zigzags and Leapfrogs is a memoir of an unlikely life that embraces themes of persistence, luck, bravery, ambition, roaming, joy, disappointment and success.
Read more

Lillibutt is lonely so she sets off from Cape Reinga on a very long walk to visit her kunekune cousins at the Auckland Zoo. As she travels down the country on Te Araroa she meets others along the way and overcomes some scary challenges during her long adventure. A charming tale o...f perseverance that also gives the reader a look at the first stage of the Te Araroa walkway.
Read more

Moana, her friend Myilli from the Bininj nation, and Lillibutt the pig journey to Uluru, in the centre of Australia, where they meet the Anangu people.

A wonderful picture book celebrating the diverse and entertaining behaviour of young children for everyone to read to 0-5 year olds with poetic text and magical colourful illustrations.

Maris O'Rourke has had a long career in education that included training teachers; the first Secretary for Education in NZ; the first Director of Education for The World Bank; and an International Education Consultant. Her international experience is extensive and wide-ranging an...d she has worked in or on more than 50 countries. Throughout, Maris has been a vocal advocate and supporter of the Education for All movement and a lifelong campaigner for education for girls and women. She has been writing for five years and published in Takahe, Poetry New Zealand, Bravado, 'a fine line', Shot Glass Journal (USA), Otago Daily Times, International Literary Quarterly (UK), Side Stream, Tyneside Poets (UK), The Fib Review (USA), Flash Frontier and Landfall. Maris has been well-placed in a number of competitions: runner-up in the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Auckland Sonnet competition; second in the Robert Burns Poetry Competition; highly commended in The Caselberg Trust International Poetry Prize; first in the South Island Writers Association (SIWA) National Competition; and a finalist in the Kevin Ireland Poetry Competition. She has also been the recipient of a mentorship from the NZSA; the inaugural featured poet in the New Zealand Poetry Society's 'a fine line'; the Guest Poet in Poetry New Zealand (Issue #44); and her first children's book Lillibutt's Big Adventure, illustrated by Claudia Pond Eyley, was published in June 2012 by Duck Creek Press. Maris has performed her poetry at Lounge, Poetry Live, In Voice and Music, Rhythm and Verse and been featured on Radio NZ's Nine to Noon. This is her first poetry collection.
Read more