“In their individual journeys into the Void, these artists, through their work, are explaining us to ourselves and creating a new Oceania.”
– Albert Wendt
Samoan poet, painter, and novelist Albert Wendt, in his description of what artists can do, beautifully locates the power of creative expression within the stories and storytellers in Oceania. But how are these artists using their craft to explain us to ourselves?
In this course, we engage with elements and techniques of Pacific poetry and how this particular medium engages and shapes Oceania. During the semester, we will explore and analyze themes and techniques of Pacific poets in order to develop skills for reading and analyzing Pacific poetry. Those skills will in turn be purposed toward writing, workshopping, and performing original poetry in class.
Through our exploration of multiple poetic texts and performances, we will engage elements of place-based writing, connection to land and ocean, responsibility, movement, and desire (to name only a few). Some of the major conversations we will cover include: What do we mean by Oceania? How is Oceania shaped through poetry and poetics? How do we understand the current issues and possibilities of Oceania through poetry? Why is poetry important?
By engaging specific themes and techniques of Pacific poetry, we engage broader issues that include gender, race, myth/legend, genealogy, colonialism, decolonization, and identity in the region. What we highlight in this course is that the power of poetry is ultimately the power of storytelling. Through this medium, we look to develop our own ability to shape our stories in connection to this ocean, the power to create connection across time and place, and the power to shape who we want to be in the future.
Throughout the semester, students will produce weekly reflection pieces alongside shorter creative free-writes and poems. Each student will conclude the semester with a creative performance and a final poetry portfolio.