Albert Wendt
is the author of six novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes
of poetry and a play. Leaves of the Banyan Tree won the New Zealand Wattie
Book of the Year Award, and is considered a classic of Pacific literature. His
work has been translated into many languages. Recent books include Sons for
the Return Home and his newest landmark novel The Mango's Kiss which
was eighteen years in the making. His most recent book of poetry, The Book
of the Black Star, combines words and images in short poems, drawing on
Samoan language and myth, on dreams and memoires, as well as one the daily life
of the poet. His play The Songmaker's Chair was a highlight of the first
Auckland International Arts Festival.
As
well as being the pioneer of Pacific writing, he is a mentor to many
writers, and has been responsible for anthologizing the literature of
the region.
Recent honours include New Zealand's Senior Pacific Islands Artist's
Award, Japan's Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture, the Companion of the New
Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature, and New Zealand's
Montana national book award for the anthology he coedited, Whetu Moana. He
is the Citizens' Chair within the Department of English at UH Manoa,
beginning in August, 2004. |
Albert
Wendt