Albert Wendt

This chapter proceeds with two aims. Firstly, it tracks correspondences between the early novels of Albert Wendt—Sons for the Return Home (1973), Pouliuli (1977) and Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979)—and a limited set of passages in the work of James Joyce. Developing narrative and structural techniques from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), and incidental motifs from the ‘Nestor’ episode of Ulysses (1922), Wendt mobilises Joyce in a number of key ways: in his portrayal of the Pacific artist coming into literary consciousness, in his challenge against the distortions of colonial history, and in his depiction of the rebellious young man confronting the mechanisms of colonial power. Demonstrating specific consistencies between the source material and patterns in Wendt’s methods of adaptation, the chapter claims a relationship between the two authors that has gone unnoticed in Wendt scholarship. Tracing these connections improves our understanding of both the textual dynamics of Wendt’s early novels, and the range of material that the author referred to in the creation of a modern Samoan literature.

Secondly, however, the chapter reflects upon what is at stake in making these connections at all. Emphasising Wendt’s connections with European antecedents risks deemphasising his connections with Samoan and other Pacific texts and traditions, and while Wendt insists that the two are not mutually exclusive, he also insists that they are not equal, given the long history of outside agencies claiming Pacific space and material for a falsely neutral global modernity. Finding defence against critical appropriation in Wendt’s idea of indigenisation, the chapter ends by considering ways in which Wendt converts outside influences into self-determining drivers of cultural growth and adaptation, adding to the ‘inheritance’ of his literary ‘descendants’.

Introductory overview of New Zealand artists who began working in film and video between 1970 and 1985, following their work up to 2010 and beyond.  This piece was originally titled A Place Near Here and  published in Illusions #35.  It has been significantly updated since then. Back issues of Illusions are available from PO Box 6476, Marion Square, Wellington, New Zealand.

The Journal of Postcolonial Writing is an academic journal devoted to the study of literary and cultural texts produced in various postcolonial locations around the world. It explores the interface between postcolonial writing, postcolonial and related critical theories, and the economic, political and cultural forces that shape contemporary global developments. In addition to criticism focused on literary fiction, drama and poetry, we publish theoretically-informed articles on a variety of genres and media, including film, performance and other cultural practices, which address issues of relevance to postcolonial studies. In particular we seek to promote diasporic voices, as well as creative and critical texts from various national or global margins.

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