Maggie Rainey-Smith
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at-the-bay.bsky.social
Maggie Rainey-Smith
@at-the-bay.bsky.social
Novelist and Poet
(also writes essays, short stories and loves Friday #rāmereshorts) Favourite title 'Grams/Halmoni/Nana
I blog at acurioushalfhour.com
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Kia ora koutou — Te Waka Taki Kōrero/The Māori Literature Trust has opened applications for two grants (up to $6K) for mid-career Māori writers. Applications for Te Tupu Hauora close on 30 Jan, 2026. All info on the website linked below. Mauri ora!

mlt.org.nz/te-tupu-haur...
Apply Now: Te Tupu Hauroa Development Grants 2026
The Māori Literature Trust invites submissions from mid-career Māori writers seeking to undertake development opportunities between February – May 2026.
mlt.org.nz
December 15, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Been chatting about poetry over on Twitter (X) and then discover this lovely shout out. So of course, I feel obliged to retweet or whatever one says on BlueSky #thecubapress
Really enjoying this debut poetry collection by @at-the-bay.bsky.social - Maggie! Such generous, nostalgic and sexy poems - well done!
#thecubapress
December 15, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
The irony is that lots of publishers would have loved to send info about upcoming books for a nationally syndicated summer reading list. What a waste!
I spoke to the person who AI-generated the Chicago Sun-Times reading list. Says he's very embarrassed. This was part of a generic package inserted into newspapers and other publications, so likely to run elsewhere. He didn't know it'd be in Chicago Sun-Times

www.404media.co/chicago-sun-...
Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist
"I can't believe I missed it because it's so obvious. No excuses," the writer said. "I'm completely embarrassed."
www.404media.co
May 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
This kind of reckless contract-cancelling to meet an arbitrary savings figure and please a minister is by no means limited to Oranga Tamariki (although OT seems particularly bad). It has happened across the care sector.
Comment: An Auditor-General's report for the ages finds the children's ministry was so dysfunctional in finding cuts to meet government demands it created an 'unacceptable situation'
When public spending cuts precipitate a meltdown
newsroom.co.nz
May 21, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Time to resurrect my Easter Poem

acurioushalfhour.com/2012/04/05/m...
April 20, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island

and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods

forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
April 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
If this doesn't terrify Kiwis about our media, nothing will

"The Free Speech Union has confirmed it initially encouraged billionaire Jim Grenon’s investment in the NZME media group."

www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Is this the ad that sparked Jim Grenon's NZME takeover?
A conversation with a free speech lobby group may have inspired the Canadian billionaire’s audacious media power grab.
www.thepost.co.nz
March 26, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Letter from Mahmoud Khalil in ICE detention:
March 19, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Yesterday was the 57th anniversary of the My Lai massacre.

I don't think there has been a time where Hugh Thompson Jnr's behaviour, and his actions that day, have been more relevant to US history than they are right now.
On 16th March, 1968 Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jnr was flying helicopter recon for a US attack on My Lai, an alleged Viet Cong-controlled village in Vietnam.

But as the attack developed below, Thompson realised he was witnessing something something else:

A massacre.

He decided to act. 1/28
March 17, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Looking forward to the Welly launch of this special book (40 languages) ....
I have a small contribution in Kiwi English, Te Reo and Korean about my granddaughter, TJ Perenara and the haka.
February 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Looking forward to the launch of this ... Looking forward to the launch of this (my wee poem is about my granddaughter, the haka and T J Perenara.
February 7, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Just re-read this book (a gem from the late 90's) - if you haven't read it, get yourself down to the library now. What a cracker of a book. Loved it the first time and loved it even more the second time. One of my book group's all-time favourite read!
February 5, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Good summary of the American coup over the weekend. At the same time it sounded like the takeover was executed by like half a dozen grad engineer dorks working for Musk, I feel like a roomful of South Korean civil servants coulda held them off with just a fire extinguisher and some light bullying.
1/ Musk seeking control over nerve systems of the federal government. As someone who spent a decade studying how centralized information systems are used for coercion this is a five alarm fire. We need to name it, identify risks, and seek to mitigate their impacts.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/u...
Elon Musk’s Team Now Has Access to Treasury’s Payments System
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Mr. Musk’s representatives at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency a powerful tool to monitor and potentially limit government spending.
www.nytimes.com
February 2, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Days Bay is a beach in Greece today - the clearest water and the largest starfish I've ever seen.
January 20, 2025 at 8:31 PM