Hungus

Hungus is a work of world-building that draws on myth, pop culture, pūrakau and science fiction – and the arrival of a dazzling new voice in New Zealand poetry. 

In the belly of Hungus is the Mantis: an amorphous, many-faced being, as fluid and full of history as the moana. It is a thing holding a machete in one hand and a mic in another. On one day we see it carrying a schoolbag full of ice creams, on another, making shadow puppets on a grave. 

Through this elusive entity, Hungus tells stories of addiction. Addictions that settle like a film on tea, that crawl into the home, that devour us from the inside out, that reach for something to fill the vā. These are stories that shape us, taunt us, flex on us and keep us spinning in circles.

‘An incredibly varied and rich and accomplished work. I love the cyborg beauty of this collection.’ —essa may ranapiri, author of echidna and ransack

‘There’s such a need for authentic Poly voices, the ones who have really been in those postcolonial urban trenches lol, but still love our world, and find it rich and beautiful and worth writing about. I love the defiant and celebratory tone of the collection. Hearty af.’ —Tayi Tibble, author of Rangikura and Poūkahangatus

Amber Esau is a SāMāoRish (Ngāpuhi / Manase) writer from Tāmaki Makaurau. She is a poet, storyteller, and professional bots. She has a BCA from Manukau Institute of Technology and an MA from the International Institute of Modern Letters, and in 2023 she co-edited the queer poetry anthology Spoiled Fruit. She is a past recipient of the Emerging Pasifika Writers Residency from the Michael King Writers Centre and the Ideas In Residence residency from the Basement Theatre. Always vibing at a languid pace, she has had work published in print and online journals.

Cover art: Katrina Steak (Instagram: @katrinasteakart)