A Paradise Lost - KOPS - Universität Konstanz

But before pulling together came compartmentalization. In his comprehensive
study on South Pacific literature, 140 Fijian author Subramani divided the Pacific into six
geographical, and ultimately cultural subregions:
- Papua New Guinea with its university and Ulli Beier, a teacher and editor who
became a catalyst for a resurgence of the traditional arts and culture as well as a
promoter of contemporary literature produced in the country.
- New Caledonia and French Polynesia, which form a separate region for the simple
reason that their international language is French. Unfortunately, there is little
interaction with or awareness of their literature in the English-speaking Pacific. The
pan-Pacific voyaging revival has helped to strengthen ancient ties with Tahiti and
other islands.
- The ‘American’ Pacific, incorporating the colonies of Guam, the Trust Territories (the
Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Northern Marianas),
American Samoa, and the State of Hawai’i, which is briefly covered as having “a long
and complex literary history. Like other Pacific islands, it has a rich oral literature.
The contemporary Hawaiian literature reflects the diverse ethnic and cultural life of
the islands.” 141
- Easter Island, or Rapanui, a Spanish speaking colony of Chile, from which so far
hardly any creative writing has come. This may be changing, as the recent publication
of history books and biographies indicates.
- Aborigine and Maori writing, which are mainly studied in connection with
mainstream Australian and New Zealand literature.
- Finally, the countries served by the University of the South Pacific, namely: Cook
Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu,
Western Samoa, and Vanuatu. These form what Subramani boldly labels the South
Pacific, or Oceania.
Just as the first five regions are oriented towards the powers that colonized them, the last
one focuses on its relationship with the British Empire. As Subramani explains about his
area of concern,
140 Subramani, South Pacific Literature: From Myth to Fabulation, Suva 1992.
141 Subramani 1992: xi.
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