Lisa Fuemana
Writer
Biography
Fakaalofa lahi atu and warm Pasifika greetings. My father is of Niue descent and comes from the village of Mutalau. My mother is of Samoan and Irish descent. I was born in the tiny village of Malaemi, in American Sāmoa, and my early years were shared between Malaemi and Niue Island.
When I turned seven, my father moved his family to New Zealand, and I began to learn to read and speak English at school. The memories of this time are not happy ones. Books seemed to have no connection to my culture or language – what did I know of “red fire engines”? I did learn to love books, but only after I had spent several painful years trying to make sense of how the stories in them related to my new environment.
I encountered the same difficulty when looking for books for my son Ali. I found none connected with his Pasifika heritage, so I started writing my own stories about life in the islands. It was a joy to offer these to my three boys, Ali, Ezra, and Iziq, as they were growing up.
It was when I “accidentally” attended a Learning Media writers’ workshop that I realised I wanted to write stories about the lives of Pasifika children in Aotearoa. I was working as a lecturer in the Auckland College of Education’s Pasifika early childhood programme, and a colleague who knew about my writing “snuck” me into the workshop. (I don’t think Don Long, Learning Media’s Pasifika resources editor at the time, would have minded!) At the workshop, I was introduced to an outstanding Niue–Samoan children’s author by the name of Lino Nelisi, and I was inspired!
I had my first story, “First Hair Cut”, published by Learning Media in 1998. It was followed by many more, mainly in the Tupu series. Learning Media also published my first children’s play, with characters that were Niue native land crabs.
I have not always been successful. I once sent a batch of five stories to Learning Media and all were rejected, which felt devastating. Now and again, however, I receive a letter of acceptance. These are treasured moments, and I embrace them for as long as I can.
I am very interested in how humour is incorporated into children’s lives, and this is evident in just about all my stories. Using humour in my own child-rearing practice has helped reduce the impact of those awkward moments.
My passion is writing material that is meaningful to children’s learning, is relevant to their environment, and captures the humour of their innocence. Happily, my boys help with my writing; drafts are always submitted to my 10-year-old son Iziq before Learning Media sees them!
Ia manuia lava
Lisa Fuemana.