Tart was a term aimed at wāhine toa who were confident, outspoken, and Indigenous – mana wāhine who were our nans, mums, aunties, and sisters. As staunch advocates for social justice, they questioned the establishment, including the literary gatekeepers of the time.

Hibiscus Tart gives a seriously fan-gurly nod to this radical cohort of mana wāhine. It’s for all you bloody tarts out there doing the hard mahi, equalising the playing field, feeding the fam, calling the karanga, surviving, representing, past, present and future.

Carin Smeaton (Muaūpoko/Ngāti Hāmoa) has published poems in Landfall, Cordite, Spinoff, Turbine, Best New Zealand Poems, NZ Listener, and was the feature author in the 2024 issue of Poetry NZ. She is based in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland. Hibiscus Tart is her second collection of poetry.