Tahitian treat
Books / Sharing ancient roots, Hawaiians and Tahitians have been separated by language barriers and cultural difference for more than 150 years. In celebration of a shared heritage, from Oct. 1-7 the first translated collection of Tahitian writing will serve as a means to tearing down those walls through art appreciation.
During this celebration of literature and culture, eight indigenous Tahitian writers come together to read from Varua Tupu (Growing Spirit): New Writing from French Polynesia, which contains stories, poems, memoirs and brilliantly colored art. The events will evoke cultural difference and the erasure of superficial constructs that have historically separated Tahitians and Hawaiians.
‘We all belong to the Pacific, as brothers, sisters and cousins, and it is significant that we are able to travel freely across the reef, physically and through the imaginations of our artists, and get to know one another again,’ says Oscar Manutahi Temaru, president of French Polynesia.
Events include a meeting of writers, students and instructors of Pacific language at the University of Hawai’i-Manoa, a public reading and colloquium at Native Books and Beautiful Things in Ward Warehouse on Oct. 3 and a public discussion at the UH-Manoa Oct.5, followed by a welcome ceremony at Bishop Museum. In addition to illustrations by late Hawaiian-Tahitian painter and musician Bobby Holcomb, the book contains photo essays by Tahitian artists Marie-HÈlene Villierme and Michel Chansin, archival photographs from the collection of the Museum of Tahiti, the Pacific Collection of the University of Hawai’i library, Jean-Yves TrÈhin and Claire Leimbach.
Sponsored in part by the Pacific Writers Connection, an organization that strives to bring the literature of Asia and the Pacific to the United States and to bring American writing to Asian and Pacific readers, and the UH-Manoa Center for Pacific Island Studies, the event is free to all.
Varua Tupu is available at bookstores and will be available for purchase at the events for $29.95.
Reading by Tahitian writers, Native Books and Beautiful Things, Ward Warehouse, Tue 10/3, 7-9pm; Panel discussion of Ma’ohi language and literature, University of Hawai’i-Manoa, Kuykendall Hall, Rm 410, Thu 10/5, 3-4pm; [manoajournal.hawaii.edu]
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