Chewing Buai and Poetry in PNG

On Wednesday this week I had the honor of reading poems and talking about chewing buai, writing, poetry and performance, and about Papua New Guinea and my observation of the world. It was the best poetry night I had in many years. I thank the East West Center Wednesday Evening Seminar organisers, the graduate students of East West Center, the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, the English Department, and the Pacific Collection Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Tenkiu tru na laikim yupela nating tru.

Comments

The Anuki Country Press said…

Good stuff, Stevie. Laikim yu na lain bilo yu lo Hawaii natin tru!

February 16, 2011 at 4:25 PM

Steven Winduo said…

Thanks Russ for the Maiba of our people and time.

February 17, 2011 at 12:06 PM

Muguwa said…

This comment has been removed by the author.

March 4, 2011 at 6:14 PM

Muguwa said…

Hi, Prof., you made a very outstanding presentation on that day. Everyone in the room was really intrigued and fascinated by your wonderful words about your experiences and reflection about PNG as a scholar and writer. I was happy to be one of the living Papua New Guineans who had the rare opportunity to witness you-one of the PNG home grown United States Professor-presenting to a multitude of intellects from all over the world. It was indeed something memorable.

March 4, 2011 at 7:11 PM

Steven Winduo said…

Thanks, MD! Having you and Doreen Mandari there for the occassion was reassuring and special.

March 5, 2011 at 12:01 PM

The first PNG Writer: Hosea Linge

With so much going on around us we tend to forget about important foundations of our history. I could not get out of my mind the much neglected discussion on the first Papua New Guinean writer. Every now and then we need to acknowledge the important parts of our history as we move forward. I would like to acknowledge the first Papua New Guinean to write a book in the 1930s. A New Irelander by name of Ligeremaluoga wrote and published his book under the title The Erstwhile Savage: An Account of the Life of Ligeremaluoga in 1932. Ligeremaluoga is from Kono village in New Ireland Province. Ligeremaluoga’s book is by all accounts the first written account by a South Pacific Islander. Most of what we know as Pacific writing is dated to the 1960s and 1970s. Last month I presented a paper at the University of Hawaii to discuss another early Papua New Guinean writer by name of Ahuia Ova of Hanuabada, who published his memoirs in 1939, six years after Ligeremaluoga’s autobiography. ...

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Great publications remain useful and relevant even many years after its first print run. One of my recent acquisitions is a book on medicinal plants of Papua New Guinea. The book is based on many years of scientific research, involving staff and students of the University of Papua New Guinea. The World Health Organization (WHO) published Medicinal Plants of Papua New Guinea (2009) four years ago. This publication is a result of a series of collaborations among several academics at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG). The scientists of the University of Papua New Guinea were able to compile their data on medicinal plants in Papua New Guinea in this glossy colored book. Professor Prem P. Rai of UPNG School of Medicine and Health Sciences, together with Professor Teatulohi Matainaho, Professor Simon Saulei, and Dr. Umadevi Ambihaipahar were responsible for the data collection and compilation. Dr. Geoffrey A. Cordell, Professor Emeritus of University of Illinoi...

Fern Ridge (Safla Rama) Digest

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