Lisa Blakie is looking forward to teaching on the topics of Pasifikafuturism and digital storytelling in the new ENGL339: Māori and Pacific Literature paper being offered in semester 1 next year.
Patricia Grace and puffer fish spacecraft will feature on the reading list for a new 300-level English paper next year.
ENGL339: Māori and Pacific Literature – to be offered in semester 1 – will be taught primarily by Lisa Blakie (Kai Tahu, Waitaha), Dr Simone Drichel and Professor Jacob Edmond from the Department of English, with guest lectures from local authors and academics from other departments.
“Having a dedicated paper that allows us to go really in depth into particular Māori and Pacific stories, movements and genres, and that shows the diversity, breadth and depth of these writers is really exciting,” Lisa says.
So where do you start when designing a paper like this? At the beginning, kind of, she says.
“When I began to frame the paper I was like, what’s the beginning and the end? But there is no beginning and end, which is very fitting for Māori and Pacific storytelling, I think. So the paper will be more thematic than chronological.
“We’ll begin with a whakapapa of Pacific literature and an overview of the history and importance of storytelling across the Pacific as a way to communicate, build relationships and make sense of the world essentially.”
Na Viro by Gina Cole
Lisa will then jump to the future and teach a component on speculative fiction, which is where the puffer fish spacecraft come in. One of the required reads will be Fijian, Scottish and Welsh author Gina Cole’s novel Na Viro, which is set more than 200 years in the future and features Pacific and Māori imagery and worldviews.
“Pasifikafuturism is described by Cole as an Indigenous Pasifika science fiction, which sits alongside Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, Queer Indigenous Futurism, Chicanafuturism, Latinofuturism and Africanfuturism.
“Na Viro also ties into genres like climate fiction, which is obviously really close to home for Pacific writers especially, because climate change is very much affecting all nations of the Pacific.”
Lisa, who teaches ENGL230: Creative Writing for Games and Interactive Media, will also focus on digital storytelling.
“What’s cool for me is that I did my honours on Indigenous storytelling and games, so getting to teach into that feels like a full-circle kind of moment.
“Bringing games into something like this, and highlighting the huge amount of collaborative Māori and Pacific storytelling in that digital space, is so fun. I mean, it always feels like getting to talk about games is great but even better when I get to share creative work made by Māori and Pacific people.”
Jacob will then explore literary journals and movements from the 1950s onwards, including Ngā Puna Waihanga – the Māori Artists and Writers Society, founded in 1973.
“Hone Tuwhare was a big part of that group, and he has a close connection to Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka and the South. Tauira will look at how Ngā Puna Waihanga started and its ongoing legacy today,” Lisa says.
The work and influence of “literary pou” Patricia Grace will be celebrated in a section of the paper taught by Simone.
"Patricia Grace's award-winning work is influential for so many writers, here in Aotearoa and internationally too. The strength of her craft is consistently powerful across short stories, novels and children's books and she really made a huge impact and broke ground for Māori, especially wāhine, in the writing and publishing space."
“I think the only way you can do this kind of paper is to have multiple perspectives and people. Ōtepoti has such an amazing rich variety of Māori and Pacific writers and I think it’s amazing for the tauira to see people who are doing it as a profession and as a creative pursuit."
The collaborative nature of the paper and getting to work with so many amazing people from around the University and community have been the biggest highlights for Lisa.
“I think the only way you can do this kind of paper is to have multiple perspectives and people. Ōtepoti has such an amazing rich variety of Māori and Pacific writers and I think it’s amazing for the tauira to see people who are doing it as a profession and as a creative pursuit.
"Also a huge mihi to Te Tumu and Dr Emma Powell for their incredible support, guidance and expertise in helping shape the paper's kaupapa."
Also contributing to teaching the paper will be the new Eamon Cleary Chair in Irish Studies, Dr Maebh Long, who’s worked at the University of South Pacific and has a background in modernist Pacific texts.
“We're also super lucky in that we have postgraduate students studying here that do creative work. For example, Stacey Kokaua-Balfour is a PhD student here, and an author, and she’ll be a contributing guest lecturer on Cook Island literature – particularly short stories.
“Then there’s the Master of Creative Writing starting next year too, and we’ll hopefully see some solid cross collaboration there as there’s quite a bit of crossover and interest.”
ENGL339 will be available both on campus and via distance learning.
“We wanted this paper to be as accessible to as many people as possible who are interested in this topic, and that it not be restricted by borders,” Lisa says.
– Kōrero by Internal Communications Adviser Laura Hewson
Master of Creative Writing
Lynley Edmeades
A Q&A with course co-ordinator and author Dr Lynley Edmeades about the new Master of Creative Writing being offered next year.
What are you most excited about with the course?
Being in a room with people who really want to take themselves seriously as writers. I love teaching at undergraduate level, but there is usually only a handful of students who want to take their work to the next level; my job is largely to ignite that spark in them.
I’m excited to meet these students who already have that spark and to really nourish that.
What kind of experience/portfolio do applicants need?
Students needs to have either an honours degree with a B+ average or a substantial publication portfolio. When applying, students will submit both a creative CV (with their publication record) and a portfolio, which can be a combination of published and unpublished work. They will also need to provide a project proposal, which gives a clear indication of the work that they will be intending to work on during the Masters year.
How is the course structured and what can students expect?
The course is workshop based and entries are capped at 15 students. Students can expect to be working in an intensive way with their cohort, critiquing each other’s work on a regular basis and getting feedback on their own.
Each student will also be paired with a supervisor who has experience in their particular genre or field, and the workshops and supervision will be supplemented by visiting-writer sessions and events throughout the year.
Will this course be inter-disciplinary?
The course will be managed and administered by English and Linguistics but will be taught into by award-winning crime fiction writer Liam McIllvanney (Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies), award-winning playwright Amanda Martin (Theatre Studies), and myself. I’m established in poetry, creative non-fiction and am the editor of Landfall. We also have colleagues from Te Tumu and Anthropology who are able to offer supervision. So yes, interdisciplinary!
We will be working cross-genre as one cohort throughout the year in the workshop. As mentioned, students will have supervision with a writer who has expertise in their area. These supervisory relationships will be established in the first 6-8 weeks and each student will have the option of nominating a supervisor (either external to the university, or within).
"I think Dunedin, a UNESCO City of Literature, has so much to offer writers, both in terms of place but also community. It has such a great artistic and literary history that seems to seep through the cracks in the footpath somehow—you can’t really get away from it."
Why is the Master of Creative Writing being introduced?
Creative writing at both undergraduate level and doctoral level has been growing for many years, but we’ve never had an offering at Masters level. We believe there’s a large demand for this course, as there’s no other equivalent in Te Wai Pounamu.
What would you like to see come from this course?
I’d really like to see this course find a place in the literary landscape of New Zealand. I think Dunedin, a UNESCO City of Literature, has so much to offer writers, both in terms of place but also community. It has such a great artistic and literary history that seems to seep through the cracks in the footpath somehow—you can’t really get away from it.
I want writers to find full immersion in that atmosphere and community, as they embark on a year of deep engagement with craft, both their own and those they’ll be joining in conversation with.
I have also been in conversation with Sue Wootton at Otago University Press, with whom we would like to establish manuscript assessment and potentially a prize for the best manuscript of the year that would be considered for publication.