First Ever Pacific Literature Conference in New Zealand
A three day conference 'Reading and Writing in the Pacific', starting tomorrow, is the first international Pacific literature conference to ever be held in New Zealand.
Run by the South Pacific Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (SPACLALS) and hosted at Victoria University, the conference will bring together established and emerging writers and scholars from the Pacific region and beyond.
Participants include Patricia Grace, who will be a keynote speaker at the conference, Albert Wendt, Karlo Mila and Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua.
"Regionally, the story of Pacific literature is so often about difficulties of distribution and connection, and for three days we will get to be in the same room as each other," says conference organiser Dr Alice Te Punga Somerville, Senior Lecturer at the School of English, Film, Theatre and Media Studies and Te Kawa a Maui, School of Maori Studies.
The conference programme includes discussion panels, workshops and creative presentations. The final day will be specifically focused on teaching.
"We will have a chance to develop networks and collaborative projects, both scholarly and creative," says Dr Te Punga Somerville.
A special issue of The Contemporary Pacific journal focused on novelist, poet and academic Albert Wendt will be launched on the final day.
"Albert Wendt is widely acknowledged as the father of Pacific literature," says Dr Te Punga Somerville.
"As well as his own unparalleled writing career, he has been involved in teaching and publishing other Pacific writers; this special issue is a chance for writers and scholars to celebrate his work and his legacy."
The conference is being held at Te Herenga Waka Marae at Victoria, as part of the marae's 25th anniversary celebrations. On Friday evening conference participants will perform original poetry dedicated to the marae.
There will also be a public event on Thursday evening starting at 6.30pm at Te Papa (marae, Level 4), featuring the launch of a CD and book by Daren Kamali and a Maori and Pacific poetry reading showcasing the work of many of the poets attending the conference.