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TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND WHERE YOU GREW UP.

My name is Mara and I hail from the beautiful islands of Fiji. My father’s family is from Ulithi in Yap (Federated States of Micronesia). His grandmother was from the island of Ulithi and she married my grandfather who was from the village of Gagil on the main island of Yap. I’m a community navigator, activist, organizer, and educator. I currently work as a part-time teacher at an Elementary school in Hawai’i and am loving it. 

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START AN INITIATIVE TO INCREASE THE VISIBILITY OF PASIFIKA LITERATURE?

I love reading and wanted to be part of a space where I could talk about books with other book lovers. At first, my goal was to simply highlight and discover stories that disrupted conventions - stories by people of color and queer authors. 

On Bookstagram - what you call the bookish community on Instagram - I discovered that there was still a lack of Pacific literature. Even beyond Instagram, finding books by Indigenous Pacific authors was such a hard task. Most Pacific books recommended by popular platforms weren’t even written by Pacific Islanders and often perpetuated harmful stereotypes. I don’t want this to be peoples’ introduction to the Pacific. 

I couldn’t find the representation I was looking for, so I decided to create a space where Pacific Islander authors could be seen. I also wanted to use the platform to educate people about Pacific issues. 

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON AAPI (ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER) MONTH?

I started getting invited to AAPI Instagram groups that were predominantly Asian. That’s when I thought - why don’t we have an initiative focused on Pacific Islanders? While I love that we are being included in these larger AAPI spaces, I think we are still the minority. I’m tired of being an afterthought. I want us to showcase that we are here and we have so much to offer. When I brought up the idea of focusing on Pacific Islander books, the Pacific Islander bookstagram community was in. 

WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN RESEARCHING PACIFIC ISLANDER LITERATURE? 

I’ve been spending more time researching books than reading books since I started this initiative. We’re trying to start a database for Pacific literature. We want to make it a collective where we can see all sorts of media - everyone from artists to musicians and authors. 

WHAT’S A RECENT BOOK YOU READ THAT BLEW YOUR MIND?

Hyphen American by Tonga Victoria. It’s about Pacific Islander FBI agents. As someone who loves fantastical works and who doesn’t see many Pacific Islander authors in that space, I was so excited to read this one. I would love to see more Pasifika authors across varied literary genres. 

ANY TIPS FOR ASPIRING PACIFIC ISLANDER AUTHORS?

Growing up, I always felt like some spaces weren’t meant for us. Representation matters, and seeing that representation of your own culture in books can have a huge impact. Anyone who has a story in their head, please put it to paper. Put it out there. There are people out there starving for it. We want that representation. We want to see ourselves represented. Stories are part of our genealogy. Oral history is something that we practice, and it comes naturally. Most Pacific Islanders I know are poets. They may not call themselves poets, but when they talk, it’s so beautiful. Don’t be afraid to tap into your rich ancestry.

Want to keep a pulse of Pasifika literature? Follow @thisislanderreads and the PAsifika lit community on Instagram:

@thisislanderreads
@aglassofread
@book.kanaky
@telbong
@corinarichards
@taotaotaitai
@haunani.plans
@thefijianreader
@polynesianreader
@novelisticnotions
@bookandsunscreen
@bibliophilebynight
@backtobacklist
@ourlibros
@readswithrosa
@shai.reads
@tihoireads
@ns510reads
@taleswiththomas
@talielovesbooks
@talking.story
@a.cup.of_ti
@mksreads

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