Vārua Tupu – New Writing from French Polynesia

For the world at large, the names Tahiti and French Polynesia conjure up a rich palette of imagery, drawn from sources as varied as the mutiny aboard HMS Bounty, Herman Melville’s flight into Taipivai valley on Nuku Hiva, and Paul Gauguin’s descent into “nativism” on Hiva ‘Oa. But it has been difficult until now to find in art and literature the emotions, intelligence, and daily lives of the Islands’ indigenous people. Varua Tupu-the first anthology of its kind-offers English-speaking readers the stories, memoirs, poetry, photography, and paintings of a French Polynesian artistic community that has been growing in strength since the I96os. In the literature and images of Varua Tupu, the people of this astonishing group of islands speak for themselves.