At the Confluence of Poetry and Politics: Comparing the Lives and Works of Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Hone Tuwhare

Date
2009
Authors
Mackay, Scott William
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Honolulu: Center for Pacific Islands Studies, School of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
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Abstract
In this essay, I examine the similarities and differences between Australia’s and Aotearoa/New Zealand’s colonial history and the indigenous activism that emerged in the form of poetic prose. I focus on the life and work of two prominent indigenous writers: Australian Aborigine poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Māori poet Hone Tuwhare, both of whom used poetry as a powerful tool of protest. I also consider the heavy critique they received, not only from the white literary establishment, but also from their respective indigenous communities. Using these examples, I show how the overlapping of indigenous activism and poetry was significant in advancing awareness of the plight of Aboriginals and Māori during a period of political awakening.
Description
Paper submitted to The Space Between: Negotiating Culture, Place, and Identity in the Pacific; based on the indigenous Oceanic concept, va, a space marked by tension and transformation and by confluences and connections
Keywords
activism, indigenous rights, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, indigenous poetry, Hone Tuwhare
Citation
Mackay, S. W. 2009. At the Confluence of Poetry and Politics: Comparing the Lives and Works of Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Hone Tuwhare. In The Space Between: Negotiating Culture, Place, and Identity in the Pacific, edited by A. Marata Tamaira, 81-100. Occasional Paper Series 44. Honolulu, Hawai‘i: Center for Pacific Islands Studies, School of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
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20 p.
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