Fern Ridge (Safla Rama) Digest

 It was good to get home recently. It was a renewal of spirit in some sense. Wewak is always a paradise in the north with beautiful beaches and sunsets.

  Even if I have not made it into the best seller list or awarded any international literary prizes, I am pleased all the same to know some of the best libraries in the world have a copy of my books as part of their acquisitions.     In my search to know which libraries have my books I came across this information. One of my books has found its way into 34 different libraries around the world.   Hembemba: Rivers of the Forest  (2000) my second book of poems, published by then Institute of Pacific Studies (IPS), at USP, Fiji seems to be doing well, above and beyond all the challenges I face in promoting my writing.    The main challenge is on how difficult it is to get published by international publishers. The other side is also true. Who indeed is willing to publish our works?   The success of  Hembemba: Rivers of the Forest  (2000) is attributed to IPS for its extensive publishing and marketing network. I am grateful to Linda Crowl, wh...

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.