LibGuides: Literature of the Pacific: Pacific Island Literature

Pacific Island Anthologies

Remembrance of Pacific Pasts
The volume includes works by Albert Wendt, Greg Dening, Epeli Hau'ofa, Teresia Teaiwa, Marshall Sahlins, Patricia Grace, Nicholas Thomas, Edward Said, James Clifford, Richard White, Gyan Prakash, Vilsoni Hereniko, Brenda Luana Machado Lee, and many others.

Nuanua by Albert Wendt (Editor)
Call Number: H 899.4 N88
Publication Date: 1995
Short story an poetry from
The Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu,
LALI by Marjorie Crocome; Makiuti Tongia; Ta Makierere; Akanisi Sobusobu; Raymond Pillai; Vanessa Griffen; Kakereta Manueli; Albert Wendt (Editor)
Call Number: H899.4L15
Publication Date: 1980
Collection of poems and short stories from
The Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Western Samoa, and Vanuatu.
Niu Voices by Huia Publishers (Created by)
Call Number: H820.8N64
Publication Date: 2006
Short stories and poetry from Fiji, Aotearoa, Samoa, Cook Islands, Tuvaluan, Niue, Tongan, and I-Kiribati authors.
Mauri Ola by edited by Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan
Call Number: H820.8M44
ISBN: 97882483515
Contemporary Polynesian Poems from Cook Islands, Hawaiʻi, Māori, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Tokelau, Rotuma, Niue,

Solomon Island Literature

The Confession and Other Stories by Julian Makaʻa
Call Number: H823 M28c
Publication Date: 1985
The Confession and other short stories in this book offer well-informed and often humorous insights into the lives of the authorʻs fellow countrymen and into a variety of down-to ear-situations.

Rotuman Literature

Last Virgin in Paradise by Vilisoni Hereniko (born in Rotuma) and Teresia Teaiwa (an I-Kiribati )
Call Number: H899.5H421
Publication Date: 2001
Take a beautiful young girl desperate to get out of Marawa, a fictional island in the South Pacific. Add a retired psychology professor from Europe, then stir sprinkle with an anthropologist from Harvard collecting data on sexual harassment.

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Tongan Literature

Hingano by Konai Helu Thaman
Call Number: H828.99192T32h
Publication Date: 1987
A collection of poems on a variety of topics from "The Women" to "Tiare" to "First Day In Beijing".
Kakala by Konai Helu Thaman
Call Number: H828.99192T32k
Publication Date: 1993
This collection of poetry provides insight into the author's experiences as a Tongan woman in the realm of academia within non-Tongan contexts/societies.
Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa
Call Number: H 823 H29t
Publication Date: 1994-01-01
Hauʻofa, born of Tongan parents, lived and worked in Fiji. This is a satire of the contemporary Pacific complete with corrupt politicians and "simple" villagers.
Dream Fish Floating by Karlo Mila
Call Number: EBK OVERDRIVE
Publication Date: 2006
Collection of poems subdivided into the following groupings: Tuakana, Pasifika Revisited, Wero, Yes, This is A Poem, Working Through Life, Chanting Back to the Bones
A Well Written Body by Karlo Mila; Delicia Sampero (Illustrator)
Call Number: H828.993311M58w
Publication Date: 2008
This collection of poetry and art focus on identity, belonging, birth, being a mother, wife, and lover.

Literature of Kiribati

Waa in Storms by Teweiariki Teaero
Call Number: H828.999681T22w
Publication Date: 2004
A collection of short stories and poems about living in the islands of Kiribati and the challenges of an island life style amidst the encroachment of western ways.
On Eiteiʻs Wings by Teweiariki Teaero
Call Number: H828.999681T22o
Publication Date: 2000
Poetry collection "combining the best of I-Kiribati culture and that of the poetʻs accord cultures". Back cover
Sweat and Salt Water by Teresia Kieuea Teaiwa; Katerina Teaiwa (Editor); April K. Henderson (Editor); Terence Wesley-Smith (Editor); Tarcisius Kabutaulaka (Series edited by)
Call Number: H 828.999 Tea
Publication Date: 2021
Sweat and Salt Water includes fifteen of Teaiwa's most influential pieces and poetry organized into three categories: Pacific Studies, Militarism and Gender, and Native Reflections.

Pohnpeian Literature

My Urohs by Emelihter Kihleng
Call Number: H899.52K55m
Publication Date: 2008
First collection in English by a Pohnpeian poet. The poet who lived in Guam, Hawaiʻi and Pohnpei offers "a new way of seeing ourselves in our islands." Back cover

Tahiti - French Polynesian Literature

Frangipani by Célestine Vaite
Call Number: EBK OVERDRIVE
Publication Date: 2006
In Tahiti, it's a well-known fact that women are wisest, mothers know best, and Materena Mahi knows best of all -- or so everyone except for her own daughter thinks.
Breadfruit by Célestine Vaite
Call Number: EBK OVERDRIVE
Publication Date: 2006
When a drunken Pito proposes to Materena, she initially thinks it's just the booze talking. As she nevertheless starts planning, she juggles everyday life only to have Pito act as though he's forgotten his proposal.
Tiare in Bloom by Célestine Vaite
Call Number: EBK OVERDRIVE
Publication Date: 2007
Now that Materena is a big star with her radio talk show, Pito can't help noticing some changes in his wife. Pito embarks on a hilarious and noble mission to prove himself to his granddaughter, his wife, and -- most importantly -- himself.
Island of Shattered Dreams by Jean Anderson (Translator); Chantal T. Spitz
Call Number: EBK OVERDRIVE
Publication Date: 2007
Spitz combines a family saga and a doomed love story, set against the background of French Polynesia in the period leading up to the first nuclear tests.
Varua Tupu by Frank Stewart (Editor); Alexander Dale Mawyer (Editor); Kareva Mateata-Allain (Editor)
Call Number: H 808.8 M31
Publication Date: 2006
An anthology of Maʻohi French Polynesian writers. This volume contains poetry, memoir, novel excerpts and short stories about the life and issues in French Polynesia.
The Missing King by Moetai Brotherson
Call Number: H Bro
Publication Date: 2012
Translated from Tahitian by Jean Anderson the novels central characters is Vaki, a gifted chess playing Marquesan mute. He stumbles through life with his muteness, which often lead to surprising discoveries.

Chomorro Literature

from Unincorporated Territory [Hacha] by craig santos perez
Call Number: H811.6Sa5f
Publication Date: 2008
Perez collages primary texts and oral histories of the colonial domination and abuse brought by the Spanish, the Japanese, the United States, and the capitalist entertainment/travel industry.