Varua Tupu: New Writing and Art from French Polynesia strengthens the ancient ties between Hawai'i and the islands of French Polynesia by translating the voices of an emerging Ma'ohi (Polynesian) literary community into English and showcasing the cultural arts of the region in general. This volume features translations of a variety of locally celebrated genres, including poetry, memoir, and fiction. Though this work is focussed on the current moment, it includes fresh translations of poet Henri Hiro, who served as a spark to the tinder of the Tahitian cultural renaissance in the 1960s and...

Tahiti and French Polynesia have been mythologized as the sensual Earthly Paradise since the 18th century. Within the last thirty years, the people indigenous to these islands, the Maohi, have been publishing their works. Most of the literary energy since 1990 has been generated by women.
Through the works of Flora Devatine, Rai a Mai, Chantal Spitz, Taaria Walker, and Titaua Peu, Bridging Our Sea of Islands situates Maohi literature within Oceanic frameworks outside of tourist and colonial discourses perpetuated by the myth of Tahiti. Maohi writers experience many struggles within an array...