Fern Ridge (Safla Rama) Digest

Dear Reader, This review was done before the unexpected passing of the late Dr. Regis Stella on last Wednesday 18th April, 2012. He was looking forward to this review to mark the launching of the book on Thursday. I remember him at this time of losing one of Papua New Guinea's robust, dynamic, and original writer scholar. May his legacy live on.... Now a new book on reading Papua New Guinean literature is out. It is a collection of critical essays published over the years in various international and local journals. The essays are brought together under one title: Unfolding Petals: Readings in Modern Papua New Guinean Literature (2012). It is compiled and edited by Regis Tove Stella of the Literature and English and Communication Studies program of the University of Papua New Guinea. The book is published by the UPNG Press and Bookshop.   A number of leading authorities in Papua New Guinean literature are represented in this book. The book looks at the beginning of Papua New...

There is no shortage of creative writers in Papua New Guinea. There is, however, a shortage of publishers for all our writers to have their works published. The books that we read and buy for our schools are all published by overseas based publishers and writers. Budding writers are in search of publishers, which are either non-existent or if they exist their interests are confined to institutions, organizations, and narrow business interests. With this kind of scenario some of us decided to become self-publishers—a decision that is both a curse and a blessing, depending on what we are able to do with limited funds drawn from our own pockets. A curse because we come from a land of so much resources that the government is happily earning from it, but turns a blind eye on supporting the literary arts and culture develop to full maturity. It is a curse because the road from writing to publishing is not part of the developmental package of this country. Writing and publishing are s...