Burnt Tongue is the debut poetry collection of Māori antidisciplinary artist, Daley Rangi. Reflecting on language and self-determination, it exhumes tales of resistance and resilience, in a scavenger hunt for forbidden fruit.

Published in collaboration with Centre for Stories and Red River Press in Delhi. Burnt Tongue was developed and published as a result of Centre for Stories and Red River Press’ Green Leaves, Red River writing program and the Writing Change, Writing Inclusion hot desk fellowship.

About Daley:

Daley Rangi is a Māori antidisciplinary artist generating the unpredictable – speaking truth to power, reorienting hierarchies, and investigating injustice. They’ve made a lot of art – not all of it good, but most of it interesting. They are neurodivergent, which appears to infiltrate their work. Speaking of, their practice has, thus far, tackled ecological sovereignty, disability ethics, ideological virality, contested histories, and queer labour. For them, self-biographies are all-at-once discomforting, superfluous, and crucial; in constant dialogue with colonial systems. Daley, like their practice, is inspired by ancestry and still searching for answers. They currently reside on Gadigal Eora country.

Praise for Burnt Tongue:

“If I had to go to war, I would want Daley Rangi on my side. Their rainbow-razored-edge-phrasing excoriates the coloniser and the queermisia, all whilst smouldering at racism. Each page is a pūkana of reclamation and hope. Burnt Tongue is flavoured by deceptive truths and awkward reveals with an aftertaste of dark humour and lightning sharp quips. No doubt, Rangi’s tūpuna are singing loudly and proudly for this authentic and brave takatāpui of our time.”
– Anne-Marie Te Whiu