Sista, Stanap Strong!: A Vanuatu Women's Anthology

Description

Sista, Stanap Strong! is an anthology of new writing from Vanuatu by three generations of women - and the first of its kind. With poetry, fiction, essay, memoir, and song, its narrative arc stretches from the days of blackbirding to Independence in 1980 to Vanuatu's coming of age in 2020. Most of these writers are ni-Vanuatu living in Vanuatu. Some have set down roots in New Zealand, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Canada. Some were born overseas and have made Vanuatu their home. One is just twenty; another is an octogenarian. The writers in this anthology have chosen to harness the coloniser's language, English, for their own purposes. They are writing against racism, colonialism, misogyny and sexism. Writing across bloodlines and linguistic boundaries. Professing their love for ancestors, offspring and language - Bislama, vernacular and English. What these writers also have in common is a sharp eye for detail, a love of words, a deep connection to Vanuatu, and a willingness to share a glimpse of their world.

Mikaela Nyman is a Kiwi-Finn, born on the autonomous, demilitarised Aland Islands. Four years in Vanuatu, a sister's death, and a cyclone (TC Pam 2015) changed her life. Her PhD research focused on creative writing, rhetorical alliance, and Ni-Vanuatu women's voices. Her first novel, Sado (VUP, 2020), is set in Vanuatu. Her first poetry collection, Nar vandkrets laggs mot vandkrets, nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2020, links the Aland Islands, Vanuatu, and New Zealand. Rebecca Tobo Olul-Hossen's poetry and short stories have been exhibited and read in public in Port Vila. A collaborative poem with Mikaela Nyman in NZ literary journal Sport 47 was her first published piece. In 2020 she had poems published in Sista, the collection Voes (Alliance Francaise), and the poetry anthology Rising Tides (South Pacific Community). She is one of the authors and editors of Vanuatu's first non-fiction book for children, Taf Tumas: Different journeys, one people (2020). She lives in Port Vila with her husband, sons, and daughter.