Earlier this week, I attended the “Stars of Pasifika Poetry” event which was organised and hosted by the Auckland City Public Library in celebration of Pasifika month across public libraries within the Auckland region. It was such a superb evening! The night included poetry readings and/or performances from an amazing group of Pasifika Poets! I was so excited and really grateful for the opportunity to be able to see these Poets all in one show. The Pasifika Poets that were in this line up were; Albert Wendt, Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh, Robert Sullivan, Serie Barford, Doug Poole, Courtney Meredith and Rev. Mua Strickson-Pua. (Click on each Poet’s name and it will take you to a link which will provide their profile and/or work).
Some of you may remember that I had blogged about Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh and her poetry book and CD entitled Fast Talking PI last month (click on the name of the book to visit that blog post). So to be able to watch her read her poetry live was so awesome! I was also excited to watch Serie Barford read her poetry work as I have a copy of her poetry book Tapa Talk in which I’ll blog about more in the weeks to come. Courtney Sina Meredith and I will be meeting for a catch up and so I’ll blog more about her awe-inspiring work with Poetry which has taken her across the globe to Germany and she will soon travel to Indonesia for a festival in literature. WOW!
Left: With Albert Wendt and Robert Sullivan
Below: With Doug Poole
To this event, I had taken my
copy of Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English which is the first Poetry Anthology that I had blogged about back in January (click on the name of the book above which will take you to the blog post). I was hoping to be able to get ALL the Poets to sign this book but only managed to get to a few of the Poets after the show. The three Poets were, Albert Wendt and Robert Sullivan (who were two of the three editors of Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English) and Doug Poole, who I had also blogged about back in January (click on this link for the blog post: 5 of my Poems will be published in Blackmail Press). Below is the photo of my signed book .
Returning home that evening, I was so grateful for the opportunity to see the richness in the poems of these “Stars of Pasifika Poetry” come to life through their reading and/or performances. It was truly an awe-inspiring evening! I absolutely loved it!
This blog was only created in January of this year and so I’m excited that there will be more opportunities for me to share the wonderful work of ALL these Poets listed above and many more to come.
They are indeed “Stars of Pasifika Poetry”.
Creative Talanoa 
Oh what an enriching time you have had..i have read Robert Sullivan will definitely check out other links…
Thanks Soma, glad that you have stopped by xox
excellent.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate it xox
Hey, I’ve nominated you for Inspiring Blogger Award. Read more here, http://bluefiadiarries.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/inspiring-blogger-award-inspirational-indeed/ . Keep inspiring! 🙂
Fia
Hi Fia,
I am honoured to be nominated for this award. Thank you very much. I truly appreciate it.
God bless xox
You look beautiful!!! Good job!
Thank you Felicia 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend xox
Thumbs up my friend ,Great 🙂
Hi Jake, thank you for visiting. Keep up the fab work! God bless xox
I am more than honored to pass this award on to you…(The HUG award)
I have read through your blog and really love your site 🙂
I feel you really deserve this award indeed.
Details for this award:
To anyone who may not be familiar with this award:
The HUG Award© was initiated by Connie Wayne at A Hope for Today at http://ahopefortoday.com, which promotes hope, love, peace, equality, and unity for all people.
The HUG Award© is for people with an expectant desire for the world, for which they: Hope for Love; Hope for Freedom; Hope for Peace; Hope for Equality; Hope for Unity; Hope for Joy and Happiness; Hope for Compassion and Mercy; Hope for Faith; Hope for Wholeness and Wellness; Hope for Prosperity; Hope for Ecological Preservation; Hope for Oneness
“People do not have to give up or compromise their own religious, spiritual, or political beliefs to qualify for the Hope Unites Globally HUG Award©. They qualify for the HUG Award© when, without bias or prejudice, they use their resources and gifts to make the world a better place for everyone.”
http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/
Hi J,
Wow! I am very honoured to have received this award from you. Thank you! I truly appreciate it. I enjoy reading your poetry and I look forward to reading more of your work. Thank you also for taking the time to visit my blog. 🙂
God bless xox
What an inspiring and educational time you must have had, Maryanne…I went to a poetry reading last year of a woman who was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2008-2010; she was born and raised where we live now, so it was exciting. She didn’t become “famous” until she was 50! Her poems are more abstract and thought provoking, but it was very educational and exciting to see and hear her read…thanks for sharing your experience! By the way, her name is Kay Ryan~Hugs to you!
Hi Lauren,
Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I really appreciate it. Your experience would have been similar to mine. It was an inspiring and educational time for me seeing the Pasifika Poets share their work in person. I would love to read Kay Ryan’s work. She sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It’s wonderful to see that there are inspirational people out there who continue to shine their light for people like me to aspire to 🙂 I look forward to reading more of your blog updates.
God bless xox
So proud of you to attend some your inspirations and take photos! Your love for poetry stems deep so to have this opportunity is nothing short of amazing. So blessed for this day for you to have… God Bless xoxo
Hi Ralph,
Thank you so much. It was indeed a great night and also an honour to be able to meet the wonderful Pasifika Poets. They are inspirational. You would have loved it if you were there with me. 🙂 Thanks for visiting my blog.
God bless xox