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Poetry and Pacific studies: notes from the field
Author(s) -
Clarke William C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
asia pacific viewpoint
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.571
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1467-8373
pISSN - 1360-7456
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8373.00091
Subject(s) - poetry , theme (computing) , tourism , asia pacific , feeling , national identity , population , urbanization , sociology , resource (disambiguation) , history , gender studies , political science , ethnology , economic growth , literature , psychology , archaeology , law , art , politics , operating system , social psychology , computer network , demography , computer science , economics
After many years at the University of the South Pacific (where this paper was written), William Clarke is currently a Visiting Fellow in Resource Management in the Asia‐Pacific Project at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra. Following a brief review of the place of oral poetry and song in Pacific Island societies, aspects of contemporary life are examined through the words of present‐day Pacific poets. Topics examined include tourism, land issues, cultural identity and authenticity, the place of women in Pacific societies, corruption, environmental issues, population growth and urbanisation. A central theme of the discussion is that the poetic voice can heighten our attention towards and understandings of people’s lives and feelings.