Solomon Islands literature began in the 1960s.
The emergence ofSolomon Islandswritten literature (as distinct fromoral literature) took place in the context of the development of indigenousPacific Islander literature in the Pacific region as a whole, beginning in the late 1960s. In 1968, the founding of theUniversity of the South Pacific inSuva provided a stimulus for Pacific Islander literary aspirations.[1]
Creative writing courses and workshops were set up. The South Pacific Arts Society was founded at the university in 1973, and published Pacific Islander literature (poetry and short stories) in the magazinePacific Islands Monthly. In 1974, the Society founded the publishing house Mana Publications, followed in 1976 by the art and literature journalMana. The journal published the first anthologies of Solomon Islands poetry.[1]
Notable Solomon Islands writers includeJohn Saunana,Rexford Orotaloa, and Celo Kulagoe. Saunana's bookThe Alternative was the first novel by a Solomon Islander; Orotaloa'sTwo Time Resurrection was the second.[1][2] The Solomon Islands literary community has produced few novels, and generally favors short stories. In the journalAriel, Robert Viking O'Brien has suggested that this is in part because most of the writers in the region came from the educated elite, as well as the fact that the short story is closer in spirit to the traditional tale.[2] Both Sauanana and Orotaloa's novels explore the uneasy relationship between traditional island culture and the influence of European capitalist and colonialist pressures.[2][3][4]
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