Robert Sullivan (New Zealand poet)
Encyclopedia
Robert Sullivan is an important Māori writer from Aotearoa
/New Zealand
.
descent. He belongs to the Māori tribes Ngā Puhi (Ngāti Manu/Ngāti Hau) as well as to Kāi Tahu
and describes himself as multicultural
. So far, he has published several books and collections of different style and theme - but all explore dimensions of Māori tradition as well as "contemporary urban experiences, including local racial and social concerns." His writing has a post modern feel and shows acute awareness of important Aotearoa
/New Zealand
issues while linking them in a complex way back to the cultural past. In the poetic narrative STAR WAKA (1999) for example, Mr. Sullivan employs traditional Māori story-telling techniques (oral tradition
) in order to link contemporary and traditional topics from Aotearoa
/New Zealand
with concepts and ideas from a European
background. This approach allows him to study the identity relation between Māori and Pākehā
within transcultural
"themes of voyaging, personal and national, of the poet and of Māori." He is one of the editors of the online journal trout since its foundation in 1997. At the moment, Robert Sullivan is - supported by several literary awards and his successful professional career - "widely seen as one of the most important contemporary Māori poets."
Aotearoa
Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.-Translation:The...
/New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Biography & Writing
Robert Sullivan is of Māori and IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
descent. He belongs to the Māori tribes Ngā Puhi (Ngāti Manu/Ngāti Hau) as well as to Kāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...
and describes himself as multicultural
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
. So far, he has published several books and collections of different style and theme - but all explore dimensions of Māori tradition as well as "contemporary urban experiences, including local racial and social concerns." His writing has a post modern feel and shows acute awareness of important Aotearoa
Aotearoa
Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.-Translation:The...
/New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
issues while linking them in a complex way back to the cultural past. In the poetic narrative STAR WAKA (1999) for example, Mr. Sullivan employs traditional Māori story-telling techniques (oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
) in order to link contemporary and traditional topics from Aotearoa
Aotearoa
Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.-Translation:The...
/New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
with concepts and ideas from a European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
background. This approach allows him to study the identity relation between Māori and Pākehā
New Zealand European
The term New Zealand European refers to New Zealanders of European descent who identify as New Zealand Europeans rather than some other ethnic group...
within transcultural
Transculturalism
Transculturalism is defined as "seeing oneself in the other". Transcultural is in turn described as "extending through all human cultures" or "involving, encompassing, or combining elements of more than one culture".-Other definitions:In 1940, transculturalism was originally defined by Fernando...
"themes of voyaging, personal and national, of the poet and of Māori." He is one of the editors of the online journal trout since its foundation in 1997. At the moment, Robert Sullivan is - supported by several literary awards and his successful professional career - "widely seen as one of the most important contemporary Māori poets."
Works
- Jazz Waiata (1990)
- Piki Ake!: Poems 1990-92 (1993)
- Maui - Legends of the Outcast (1996)
- STAR WAKA (1999)
- Weaving Earth and Sky : Myths & Legends of Aotearoa (2002)
- Captain Cook in the Underworld (2002)
- Voice Carried My Family (2005)
- Shout Ha! to the Sky (2010)
- Cassino: City of Martyrs (2010)