Airini Beautrais is a poet and fiction writer living in Whanganui, New Zealand. Her collections of poetry are Secret Heart (2006) and Western Line (2011), both published by Victoria University Press, Wellington. She has worked as a science teacher and is currently at home with her two sons, Lukas (2.5) and Felix (6 months).
“A pair of hands” is set in Whanganui in the early 1990s, a time of record unemployment in New Zealand. The Whanganui river featured in the story has been home to a variety of well known artists and writers, and often finds its way into Airini’s work.
