Renée - Life story told in patches

At the age of 50, Otaki author Renée (Scots/Ngati Kahungungu) started to write plays - Wednesday to Come was her best loved. She has written eight novels and more than 20 plays and she often focuses on creating work that put women in lead roles and deal with lives of working class people. Now, at 88, Renee says she considers herself very lucky to still have most of her marbles. She has written a memoir, These Two Hands, described as her life story told in patches, like a quilt - one for every year of the life she has lived so far. This week she received the Playmarket Award and a $20,000 prize for her significant contribution to theatre in Aotearoa. Renee teaches her Your Life, Your Story and Poem a Week workshops in Otaki, and writes a blog.