Fern Ridge (Safla Rama) Digest

Credit:  Ondobondo magazine I learnt about the ogre in my course on Oral Literature and Traditions under the tutelage of the venerable Indian scholar, Prithvindra Chakravarti.     I was introduced to the ogre killing child story that is prevalent in many Melanesian societies of the southwestern Pacific, particularly in the western and northern regions and the Massim district of PNG, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, Tanna in Vanuatu, and Malaita. It is absent in Fiji and New Caldonia.    The two well documented versions are from Mekeo and Buka. In the Buka version the monster Burjangio is a spirit pig who arrives in a village bringing with it massive earthquakes that destroy a village.   The word “ogre” has its first use in the French language, through the  French writer, Charles Perrault, in 1697. Charles  Perrault, (1628–1703), French writer is remembered for his  Mother Goose Tales    (1697), containing suc...

  Ben Carson’s   Think Big   had me thinking about how medicine is made interesting and easier to understand if it’s in the hands of those gifted and able to make the complex easier to grasp. Knowledge revealed to ordinary people can transform lives beyond oneself.     Dr. Benjamin Carson talked about medicine and the stories of those encounters he had in practising medicine every day. Ben Carson honors those who made the journey interesting and worth it, those who surrounded him in his life, and those who changed his life.    Even after I have read Carson’s book I can never forget the acknowledgement he made of the influence of his mother. His mother prepared Ben and the  elder brother, Curtis, to read. Reading was the foundation for real success in Ben and Curtis’s lives.   I sometimes wonder how anyone in the world can speak with authority about a subject without reading on the subject or even learning all there is to learn about the ...

[I had invited my students to contribute to my blog. The only contribution I received is the article written by Luther KISING, a student in the course Literature and Politics: Literature, Politics and Culture in PNG. STEW] "The Heart of gladness and thanks giving to SANA who diligently put effort to make people a nation."   By    Luther KISING ( Tuesday 2nd March 2021 🇵🇬) With great dignity and respect to share this moment of sorrow and silence to the founding father, leader and the foundation of this sovereign commonwealth nation and the independent state of Papua New Guinea, pioneer Prime Minister Sir (Grand Chief) late Michael Thomas Somare.  It is a national tragedy for us in the moment of sorrow and mourning for our foundating father who passed away on the 26th of February 2021. I am indeed humbled to acknowledge the sacred supremacy of our living God who mandated Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare to proclaim the emancipation of people who speak more than ...

  A journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step   CONFUCIUS Philosopher           I have climbed many mountains. This book is about how I climbed the many mountains in my life. I have climbed a thousand mountains in my life using the knowledge and tools I learnt in books. I have written a lot on principles of success. I adopted these principles from international motivational and personal development gurus like Jack Canfield, Napoleon Hill, Robert Kiyosaki, Brian Tracy, Anthony Robbins, and others. I decided to collate them as an anthology of what I have written over the years. Hence, this book will contain pieces I have written over many years going back to 2010 or thereabouts. Otherwise, most of the chapters were published every week as newspaper articles. I acknowledge  The National  newspaper for publishing most of these articles in the column known as “ Steven’s Window”  within “The Weekend”.  I have since then...

  Influence of Pidgins, Vernaculars, and Pacific English in Pacific Literature I have always wanted to see the influence of pidgins and local languages, including variant of English used in Pacific Islands writing.  I could not help notice I was working all the time with the languages I know as an Indigenous Pacific Islander.  It was important for me to express myself freely in all languages I know.     Research on Influence of pidgins, creoles, vernaculars, and Pacific English in contemporary writings in Oceania are prevalent.   Included in this essay are links to online resources that might interest you. I guess that was part of the reason to write this essay "Pidgin Poetics in Oceania" , now published in Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Literature. Link https://oxfordre.com An excerpt is given below.

With the New Year 2021 I have several projects that I want to do.  The first one is to  update my blog every week. Second, I want to explore new horizons in online publishing and editing.  Third, I want to see how I can use this platform to promote my writing and books. I will launch soon a work of non fiction, a personal development book, and a book of motivation for those who follow my writing and ideas. Follows of Stevens Window in The National will welcome this book. Keep an eye out for Imagination is Everything . 

Muschu and Kairiru Island from Boutique Hotel, Wewak Hill An excerpt below is a teaser of the forthcoming personal memoir.... We were excited, sad, and also afraid of the journey. There were a lot of people on Wom Beach that day. The crowd was there to see the journey we were to take across the sea to the island known as Kairiru. Most of the year seven boys on the school barge had never been on a boat, let alone have any experience of the sea. The atmosphere was one of anxiety, despair, and trepidation. We just imagined where we were going to on this first boat trip. Our parents probably held their own fears at bay about releasing us off to a strange place. We held on to anything on the boat that can keep us steady and safe.   The moment I stepped onto the school barge I knew the journey to the world beyond familiar shores had begun. I was excited more than worried, as might have been the case with many of the new faces I was on the boat with. I was fortunate that I ha...