Our Katūīvei Pasifika Poetry Readings event is almost here, so we thought we’d introduce you to some of the talented poets who will be reading at the event! Join us on Friday at Te Puna Waiora Newtown Library, 6-7pm for a dynamic night of contemporary poetry readings to celebrate the launch of this exciting new book (published by Massey University Press) hosted by former Poet Laureate and editor David Eggleton.
Karlo Mila MNZM is a Pasifika writer and poet of Tongan (the villages of Kolofo’ou and Ofu), as well as Samoan and Pākehā descent. Her first collection, Dream Fish Floating (Huia, 2005) won the NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry at the 2006 New Zealand Post Book Awards. She has subsequently published two further poetry collections, also with Huia: A Well Written Body (2008) and Goddess Muscle (2020).
Maringikura Mary Campbell lives in Pukerua Bay in the old family home with her whānau. She is the mother of three sons and four mokopuna. Identity, loss, tūpuna and wairua are common themes in her writing. She is not a prolific writer, but rather writes when a poem is given or there is fire in her belly.
Rob Hack was born in Invercargill and is of Cook Island and Kiwi heritage. He had an awesome childhood on Niue and after several forays around Australia now lives on the Kāpiti Coast. He runs two weekly creative writing classes at Te Ara Korowai in Raumati Beach and hosts a monthly radio show on Te Pae called Not at the Table: Poetry and Stuff. He is researching and writing about the life and times of Papa (Sir) Tom Davis.
Losalini Tuwere says, ‘I am from Fiji, specifically from Moala, Lau, with maternal links to Natewa, Cakaudrove. I am married with two children. Living away from Fiji for most of my adult life has limited my use of the Fijian language. Writing in Fijian is my way of capturing my oral language and passing it on.
Rhegan Tu’akoi is a Tongan and Pākehā writer and poet. Her family hails from South Canterbury and the village of Holonga, Tongatapu. Her poetry has been published in The Pantograph Punch, Sweet Mammalian, Mayhem Journal and Poetry New Zealand Yearbook. She lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.
Gem Wilder (Fijian, Samoan, Irish, Scottish) is a Wellington-based writer. Their work has been published in a variety of places, including The Spinoff, The Sapling, Sport, Is It Bedtime Yet? and Out Here, and Enjoy Gallery, The Dowse, Wellington Museum and LitCrawl.
Josua Tuwere has been writing poetry since attending high school at Suva Grammar in the 1980s, a period of great change in Fiji. His creative journey flourished at the University of the South Pacific in the 1990s as part of the Niu Waves Writers’ Collective. He lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.
Kristoffer Lavasi’i is a Samoan New Zealander (from the villages of Vaigaga, Sale’aula and Musumusu) with connections to Switzerland, Ireland and Scotland, and was born and raised in Ngāruawāhia. This is his first time being published.
Mereana Latimer (Ātiu, Pākehā, Ngāti Apa, Ngā Wairiki) was born and raised in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Her writing has appeared in Turbine | Kapohau, Sweet Mammalian, Takahē and on stage, with thanks to Prayas Theatre.
Tamara Tulitua (Sāfa’ato’a, Matā’utu, Gagāifo, Vailima, Tanugāmanono, Sapapāli’i) was the 2022 Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence at the Institute of Modern Letters, where she completed her Master’s in creative writing in 2021.
David Eggleton (Host) is a poet and writer of Rotuman, Tongan and Pākehā heritage. His collection The Conch Trumpet (Otago University Press, 2015) won the 2016 Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the 2016 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. He also received the 2016 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry. David was the Aotearoa New Zealand Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2021.
