11 - Shining the light on early 20th century Samoan literary cultures

Writing the New World

"I've reconnected with my family; I've never met my grandparents or great grandparents but I feel very connected to them now that I've read their writing.. I've read their feau, I've read ther momoliga alofa, soalaupule - aspiration for the next generation. I didn't have the privilege of hearing first hand from them and this is what archives (work) does. Although they were writing to a public, wider audience.. I read their work personally as an Indigenous researcher and a Samoan woman because I am connected to them, I have personal stakes (and responsibilities) in relation to their work."
'Writing the New World' researcher and PhD student Wanda Ieremia-Allan explores her childhood memories of the delapidated London Missionary Society Malua Print house in Samoa as inspiration for her study of the cosmopolitan, Pan Pacific, early twentieth century Samoan literary cultures that stretched from as far as Torres Strait Islands to San Diego, US and New Zealand.