Interview with Tahitian author Célestine Vaite |
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"My life mission is to blast the literacy rate in French Polynesia to the sky. And I will!" |
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Célestine Hitiura Vaite was born in Tahiti to a Tahitian mother and a French father. She grew up in her big extended family in Faa’a-Tahiti, where storytelling was part of the every day life and women overcame obstacles with gusto and humor. Her first two novels about the Mahi and Tehana families, Breadfruit and Frangipani, have been published in Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Brazil, France, Germany and French Polynesia. Breadfruit won the 2004 Littéraire des étudiants and Frangipani was short-listed for the 2005 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. In 2006, Frangipani was also long-listed for the prestigious British Orange Prize. Tiare, her third novel has just been released in Australia. Célestine now lives on the south coast of New South Wales. For more information and to order her books please visit http://www.celestinevaite.com/
The Pacific Eye Magazine was fortunate enough to correspond via email with Celestine (via her assistant Santi…thank you Santi!!!) about her love for writing and her desire to instill in others the knowledge that “writing is giving and loving!”
PEM: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
Célestine: As a child, I wanted to be so many things; psychiatrist, pilot, lawyer, president - never a mention of writing - but I’ve always loved books and stories with a passion and for me writing is just another form of story-telling. At twenty-nine years old, all was revealed when, pregnant with my third child and feeling nostalgic for my fenua and family, I told my first story: The Electricity Man.
PEM: How do you get ideas for your books?
Célestine: I always have one element of truth in my stories. I find it keeps me focused, close to the story and you’ve got to feel close to the story, always. Then play around and have fun! Being a writer, my notebook is my faithful companion.
PEM: How did you come to write Frangipani?
Célestine: Frangipani which tells the story of the struggles between a mother and a daughter is also about the two joining forces as women, becoming allies and inspiring one another. This book is dedicated to my daughter who provided much inspiration for my portrayal of Leilani.
PEM: Do you do a lot of research for the books that you write?
Célestine: Research in people, yes, plenty! Meaning, that whoever comes into my life gets my undivided attention. I’m always the one who makes the first step. A little hello here, how are you today? You’re taking your pillow with you on the train? Sometimes, I get excuse me blank looks, other times, stories that keep me awake at night, and it’s the best.
PEM: Do you have a particular readership/audience in mind when you write your books?
Célestine: We write for ourselves first, than for an audience, a particular audience, it’s impossible to write for the whole population. With Breadfruit, my audience was my mother; with Frangipani, my daughter, and with Tiare, my brother.
PEM: What is the one element of your writing that you feel sets you apart from other writers?
Célestine: I’m a Tahitian/ French writer who writes in English and our expressions are fabulous.
PEM: What has been the reaction from the Tahitian community about
your books?
Célestine: Being published in more than ten countries around the world is an honor. Winning the prix litteraire des étudiants in my country, twice, my medals of pride.
PEM: What would you say has been the biggest challenge for you as a writer?
Célestine: Being a mother of four children and working three days a week (before I became a full time novelist and for this I’m very grateful), I’d say lack of time to write, but you become very creative when you really want something. For example, I wrote in point forms in between cutting onions, hanging the clothes on the line, brooming, waiting for my kids at the bus stop etc.
PEM: What book has most influenced your life — and why?
Célestine: Once Were Warriors, by Alan Duff. You cannot be a Pacific islander and not be touched by this book; the heavy drinking, the macho-macho men cinema, and Beth wanting the best for her children.
PEM: Who are some writers that have inspired you or influenced your work?
Célestine: Guy de Maupassant. I’ve been in love with Maupassant since the age of eleven. His insight into human nature is immense, and it is my dream to pay my respect to this brilliant French story teller from the 18th century. I’ve already seen la Seine River in Paris he wrote so much about in his collection of short stories. His grave is next.
PEM: Please share three "Good to Know" facts about you.
Célestine: I write a lot about strong, passionate and sexy women, and dancing a frantic and sexy tamure during my writing breaks is vital. I dance in my kitchen, on my verandah or in my living room in front of my framed print of la declaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne, Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791). On the front page of all my notebooks, I draw Tahitian symbols, notably the one I have tattooed on my shoulder which symbolizes fertility, and not just fertility meaning, lots of children, but fertility with love, ideas, prosperity, creativity, pride for my culture and my people. I act out all of my dialogues, first to check if it is technically possible for my character to be doing what I wrote she/he was doing, and more importantly, to hear what the words sound like. Dialogues must sound human and have rhythm.
PEM: In your book Frangipani we (as readers) get to see the challenges and the struggles between mother—daughter relationships? What was your biggest challenge as a teenager?
Célestine: My mother is a very reserved woman and here I was loud, bold, tattooing dots on my face, we were bound to clash a bit. A single mother of four and a professional cleaner with a vision for her children (she bought us books, you talk, what luxury! I don’t know how she did it) mum was a great believer of, “there’s a time and a place for everything.” And I was restless. It didn’t suit me for example to have the electricity man act like he was some kind of God whenever he came into our neighborhood to disconnect. I wanted to go out and tell him off. And mum, hiding behind her colorful curtains was like; “Don’t you dare humiliate me. God is giving us this obstacle for a reason.”
PEM: What do you think are the most difficult challenges facing teenagers today?
Célestine: Love, friendship, wars, recycling, and I pass. Teenagers are like sponges, they absorb so much. It is not the age of silliness. It is the age of conscience.
PEM: Do you see writing as a form of therapy for our young Pacific Islanders?
Célestine: Writing is cathartic for all of us. It’s like pouring your heart out to a very good friend who will nod in agreement, shake his/her head with disbelief, and take your secrets to the grave until you decide, that is if you decide, to share your words with others.
PEM: What book(s) are you currently working on now?
Célestine: Working on a book is like expecting a child in the early stages; you don’t want to talk about it in case bad luck strikes. But all will be revealed soon!
PEM: What advice would you share with aspiring writers?
Célestine: Write, read, write, and enrich your life so that you can enrich those of your readers. God gives us obstacles to grow from and writing about your obstacles will inspire others. Writing is giving and loving.
