Albert Wendt
Albert Wendt The University of Auckland, University of the South Pacific | |
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Notable works | Sons for the Return Home (1973) Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979) |
Albert Tuaopepe Wendt
Wendt is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including twice receiving the
Early life
Wendt was born in
He completed a diploma of teaching at Ardmore Teachers' College in 1959, and subsequently attended Victoria University of Wellington, graduating with an Master of Arts in History in 1964.[5] His Master's thesis was about the Mau, Samoa's independence movement from colonialism during the first decade of the 1900s.[7] He began to publish work in literary magazines, including the New Zealand School Journal, the New Zealand Listener, and Landfall while attending Victoria University.[4][6] In 1963, he received an award from Landfall for the best prose by a writer under the age of 25, for his short story "The Name of the Game".[8] He has said that at the time he started writing, he was inspired by the examples of Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, Jacquie Sturm and Hone Tuwhare, who were then the only well-known Polynesian writers in New Zealand.[4]
Literary career
Time in the Pacific Islands: 1965–1987
In 1965 Wendt returned to Samoa and became the headmaster of Samoa College.[5] He continued to send poems and short stories back to New Zealand for publication in magazines, and in 1972 he wrote two plays: Comes the Revolution, performed at the South Pacific Arts Festival, and The Contract, performed at the School's Drama Festival in Apia.[6] He began working on the epic novel Leaves of the Banyan Tree around this time, but due to its length, put it aside and finished the novel Sons for the Return Home first, which was published in 1973.[4] It described the experiences of a young Samoan man in New Zealand,[9] and in 1979 was adapted into a feature film directed by Paul Maunder, which was the first film focusing on the experiences of Pacific people in New Zealand.[10]
In 1974 Wendt was appointed a senior lecturer at the
Wendt's epic family saga Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979) won first place at the 1980
Later career in New Zealand: 1988–present
In 1988 he was appointed as the first professor of New Zealand literature at the
Wendt's later works include poetry collections Shaman of Visions (1984) and Photographs (1995), and short story collection In The Birth and Death of the Miracle Man (1986), both of which feature works set in Samoa. The novel Ola (1991) features a female protagonist travelling around the world and themes of religious faith and identity,
In 1999, he was the visiting Professor of Asian and Pacific Studies at the
He retired from his university professorship in 2008.
He became a patron of the
Legacy and influence
Throughout his career Wendt has been a leader in postcolonial literature.[1][2][15] His works have been published widely internationally and translated into French, Chinese, German, Dutch and Japanese.[21] The first notable study of his work was published in 2003, by Paul Sherrad, titled Albert Wendt and Pacific Literature: Circling the Void.[2] New Zealand scholar Lydia Wevers said that Wendt's works "have been instrumental in shaping a Pacific literature in English, especially in its evolution from oral to written form".[9] In addition to his own works, of which the most well-known is Sons for the Return Home (1973), Wendt has played a wider role in shaping the cultural life of Oceania; writers Teresia Teaiwa and Selina Tusitala Marsh noted, in an introduction to a special 2010 issue of The Contemporary Pacific focussing on Wendt's legacy:[15]
Without a doubt, there are a number of Wendt’s contemporaries who, like him, have created invaluable legacies to inspire challenge thinking in, of, and about the Pacific— or Oceania. But in crucial ways, Wendt is an unparalleled figure in our region.
He is the subject of a documentary, The New Oceania, made in New Zealand by Point of View Productions. Directed by Shirley Horrocks, the film screened at the New Zealand International Film Festival and Hawaii International Film Festival in 2005, on TVNZ in 2006 and on ABC Australia in 2007.[27][28]
Personal life
As a young teacher, Wendt married Jenny Whyte, and they had two daughters and a son.[29][30] One of his daughters, Mele Wendt, was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to governance in the 2019 New Year Honours.[31]
Wendt has been in a relationship with his partner, Reina Whaitiri, since his marriage ended in the early 1990s.[29][32][33] He is a cousin of actor Nathaniel Lees, who directed and starred in Wendt's play The Songmaker's Chair at the 2003 Auckland Arts Festival.[3] His niece Lani Wendt Young is also a writer.[34]
Awards and honours
- 1980 – Wattie Book of the Year for Leaves of the Banyan Tree[16]
- 1992 – Commonwealth Writers Prize in the Asia-Pacific Region for Ola[16]
- 1994 – Order of Merit of Samoa for services to education and literature[16]
- 2001 – Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature[16]
- 2003 – Senior Pacific Arts Award, Arts Pasifika Awards[16]
- 2004 – Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture[16]
- 2004 – Montana Book Award for Whetu Moana[16]
- 2010 – Commonwealth Writers Prize in the Asia-Pacific Region for The Adventures of Vela[35]
- 2012 – Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement in Fiction[36]
- 2013 – Order of New Zealand[16]
- 2018 – Icon Award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation[37]
Selected works
Novels, short story collections and memoirs
- Sons for the Return Home (1973)
- Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree: And Other Stories, short story collection (1974)
- Pouliuli (1977)
- Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979)
- The Birth and Death of the Miracle Man, short story collection (1986)
- Ola (1991)
- Black Rainbow (1992)
- The Best of Albert Wendt's Short Stories (1999)
- The Mango's Kiss: a Novel (2003)
- The Adventures of Vela (2009)
- Ancestry, short story collection (2012)
- Breaking Connections (2015)
- Out of the Vaipe, The Deadwater: A Writer's Early Life, memoir (2015)
Poetry collections
- Inside Us the Dead. Poems 1961 to 1974 (1976)
- Photographs (1995)
- Shaman of Visions (1984)
- The Book of the Black Star (2002)
- From Mānoa to a Ponsonby Garden (2012)
Plays
- Comes the Revolution (1972)
- The Contract (1972)
- The Songmaker's Chair (2004)
Anthologies and other edited works
- Lali: A Pacific Anthology (1980)
- 100 Lovers of Taamaki Makaurau, edited by Wendt and Witi Ihimaera (1994)
- Nuanua: Pacific Writing in English since 1980 (1995)
- Wendt, Albert; ISBN 9781869402730.
- Wendt, Albert; ISBN 9781869404482.
References
- ^ OCLC 865265749. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Wendt, Albert". Read NZ Te Pou Muramura. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ a b Hewitson, Michele (9 September 2003). "The Songmaker's Chair: at Maidment Theatre". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d McDougall, Brandy Nālani (12 August 2002). "Interview with Albert Wendt: 1". Trout. 15. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Christe, Michel (2004). "Interview with Albert Wendt". Kunapipi. 26 (2). Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Sharrad, Paul (2003). "Albert Wendt, Bibliography" (PDF). Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Wendt, Albert (1965). "Guardians and Wards: A study of the origins, causes and the first two years of the Mau in Western Samoa". New Zealand Electronic Text Centre. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
- ^ "Notes". Landfall. 17 (4): 327. 1963. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b Wevers, Lydia. "Māori and Pacific writers and writing about Māori – Story: Fiction". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ Martin, Helen. "Sons for the return home, 1979". Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Albert Wendt". Academy of New Zealand Literature. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9780191727573. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Past Winners by Author: W | New Zealand Book Awards Trust". New Zealand Book Awards. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ S2CID 143912603. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "WENDT, Emeritus Professor Albert, ONZ, CNZM (2001)". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "WRITER ALBERT WENDT". Pacific Islands Report. Pacific Islands Development Program. 1 October 1999. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ "New Year honours list 2001". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ^ Gregory, Angela (17 November 2003). "Celebration of Pacific creativity". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- ^ Anae, Misatauveve Melani. "The songmaker's chair". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Maualaivao Albert Wendt's Biography". Arts Foundation of New Zealand. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Arathimos, Michalia (1 May 2017). "We Are What We Remember". Landfall Review Online. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2013". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ Wenman, Eleanor (9 May 2018). "Five top Kiwi artists earn the title of Icon from the New Zealand Arts Foundation". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "UPU". Silo Theatre. March 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "UPU". Kai Mau Festival. June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "The New Oceania". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "The New Oceania: Albert Wendt, writer". Point of View Productions. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9780719059421.
- ISBN 9781857431797.
- ^ "Working to level the playing field for Pacific". Ministry for Pacific Peoples. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan, 2011". Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ISBN 9780908321261.
- ^ Husband, Dale (1 September 2019). "Lani Wendt Young: A hunger worldwide for our stories told by us". E-tangata. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "Albert Wendt". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ "Previous winners". Creative New Zealand. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ^ "Maualaivao Albert Wendt wins Icon Award 2018". Samoa Observer. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
External links
- Wendt's profile from Read NZ Te Pou Muramura
- Wendt's profile from the Academy of New Zealand Literature
- The New Oceania film, available on YouTube
- Wendt reading his poem "Inside Us The Dead", available on YouTube
- "Stepping Stones", published in Poetry, February 2018