On Valentine’s Day in 1779, Hawaiians killed colonizer Captain Cook upon his 3rd intrusive visit to Hawai’i. His invasive exploration of Australia & our islands in Oceania (Tahiti, Aotearoa, Kanaky, etc) is what triggered British colonization in the Pacific. Thank you Hawaiians 🙏🏽💘🌊

Moana 2 is out in theaters today but not yet here in Tahiti. Until then: a contrapuntal poem I wrote that was published in Poetry Magazine after the 1st movie when Disney pulled a racist brown skin tatted costume off the shelves. Each column is its own poem, then read across: 4 poems total 🌊

My time on Huahine ends soon. I’m sad to go but ready to continue writing/finishing these manuscripts so I can start the others. France banned the teaching of the Tahitian language across 2 generations. The least I can do is write these books as resistance to all our colonizers couldn’t take. 🇵🇫🫀🌊

Working on children’s book #2 and my YA novel here has been a gift, especially amidst being here for the island’s annual book fair and the opening of their 1st library, created by Chantal. A woman who survived & fought against French nuclear testing & settler colonialism. This library is monumental.

One month into my 2 month writing residency in Mā’ohi Nui (French Polynesia). 1 month spent in Mo’orea (where I’m headed next) & 1 in Huahine: home to the most famous Tahitian author, my literary hero Chantal Spitz. I’ll cherish the immense time I’ve shared w/ her & let it fuel my writing even more.

Cover photo comes from the title of the first essay in my writing mate/sisterfriend Lana Lopesi’s Bloody Woman. If Sāmoan women had a bible (or just a text that could hold our blood and all our parts with tenderness), this one would be mine.

😭😭 I’m going to tell my kids that this was the vā our ancestors were talking about 🫀🫀

How it feels to be in Mā’ohi Nui,
watching the hīkoi and every video of Māori resistance right now 🖤🤍❤️

Test test test, 1 2 1 2

Ia ora na 👋🏽 from the island of Huahine in Mā’ohi Nui (French Polynesia). Here for two months on a writing residency. Here on Bluesky up until it gets weird (don’t make it weird)