Interview with Vaimoana Niumeitolu |
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"It is important for us to remember our history, our roots and greater selves because we just didn't come here on our own and we will never succeed on our own." |
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Vaimoana Litia Makakaufaki Niumeitolu is an Artist (painter, poet, actor), Activist, Educator, Community Organizer & Leader. Moana was born in Nuku'alofa, Tonga; raised in Provo and Orem, Utah and now lives in Harlem, New York (Uptown Baby!) She graduated from New York University in the Studio Art Program concentrating in Painting and earned the Ellen Stoekel Fellowship from Yale University. As a Graduate Student, she attended Columbia University in the Theatre Masters Program and then worked at the United Nations in NYC. She has performed her poetry and performance art at New York City’s Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Bar 13, SOB’s, Cantor Film Center, Bronx Museum, Locus Media Gallery, and SoMarts Gallery in San Francisco, California and Villa Natalia in Florence, Italy. Her first play, Tongue-in Paint, a full-length performance art event was performed at Dixon Place in New York City in April 2001 and her one act play, A Prayer for Tonga was produced and performed at Harvard University’s Loeb Theatre in Feb. 2004 for the WINC Theatre Festival.
Moana has taught Visual Arts, Theatre and Writing to youth in the South Bronx, Harlem, Brooklyn, Chelsea and the Lower East Side for the past 6 years and continues to teach and be active in raising awareness for Youth Rights and Education. Her paintings & drawings have been shown in New York City, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Utah and Florence, Italy. She is the founder of Pasifika New York City, a nonprofit organization for Indigenous People of the Pacific Ocean on the East Coast. (Bio excerpts from http://www.mahinamovement.net/)
The Pacific Eye Magazine was lucky enough to spend a few moments with this amazing Tongan artist as she pours he heart out about her love of writing and the power of words!
PEM: One of your poems is entitled Manatu’i (remember) why do you feel it’s important for us to remember?
VN: It is important for us to remember our history, our roots and greater selves because we just didn't come here on our own and we will never succeed on our own. It is important to remember who we are, where we came from and all the lessons we gain each and everyday. It is so easy to forget our greatness, who we are to each other and ourselves. It is so easy to forget those simple lessons you learned. That's why "Remembering" is not only an act of love and inspiration to ourselves and others but it is a courageous one: to be proactive in searching and generating one's own legacy takes courage and leadership.
PEM: What was the first poem you wrote and how old were you when you wrote it?
VN: I don't remember. I started writing poetry when I was really young. The first poem that I actually called a "poem" and that I performed for live audiences was "Manatu'i" and I wrote that when I was 21 years old.
PEM: When did you know that you wanted to write poetry?
VN: I was always writing poetry. I didn't know at that time that I was. I always scribbled sentences, phrases, stanzas on papers and crumpled them up in my pockets. I always wrote a journal my whole life and would write countless paragraphs of how my day went and what I learned and what I wanted to see in the world. From the moment I started reading as a kid, I wrote stuff down. I have a photographic memory, so it was easy for me to copy letters and use words in sentences before I went to Kindergarten. I started reading when I was 3 and the first few books my Mother read to us were Poetry books which I fell in love with. As a young girl, I fell in love with the word: written and oral. Words created worlds for me that I never knew existed. I became an avid reader and it felt natural for me to write during and right after reading so much. Today, whenever I read: a novel, the paper, signs, a menu, poetry itself, I am inspired to put words together to create feelings, textures and a whole new world.
PEM: What makes your poems different from other poets?VN: I'm a Tongan girl who was born in Tonga; raised in Provo, Utah, and now lives in New York City--Harlem USA. I have also lived in Hawaii, Connecticut, Philadelphia and Italy. My commitment to the world is abundance, freedom, love and peace for all. I have a passion for youth, families and South Africa. I love Food, Hip Hop, Vibrant Colors and Nature. I am a Painter and Actor as well, and I also write songs, sing and I absolutely love choirs. I am an Activist and Educator. My poetry reflects all my commitments, loves and my experiences in living in different lands, cultures and languages. I am learning Xhosa and Zulu and will be using those languages in my poetry soon; I already use Tongan, Spanish, Italian and English in my poetry. Who else do you know has those combinations?
PEM: What inspires you to write?
VN: What inspires me to write is living a life of passion, freedom, abundance and love. Living here in Harlem, USA is inspirational in itself. I am inspired by people's lives: young people who I have worked with in the Bronx; families who have a parent that is incarcerated; my neighbors with 10 kids; the beauty that surrounds us that can't always be seen by the naked eye. People's struggles to live a life they love; People's everyday determination and challenges, overcoming and creating something new. I am inspired by the subway, the oils and incense smells in Harlem; good home cooking and all the unconditional love I give and receive on a daily basis.
PEM: Please describe your writing process.
VN: My writing process is simple. I write. I write. I write. I write. I don't Stop. I write Every Day. I don't judge myself, I don't judge my writing, I don't do spell check and I don't force anything to come out "right." I write. period. I say what I want to say and make sure I say it all. I edit. I speak it. and then I write some more. I don't stop.
PEM: What is the relationship between your speaking voice and your writing voice?
VN: As of right now, I am much more comfortable in my writing voice then in my speaking voice. It is more comfortable for me to share myself in the written word then just sharing myself in speaking about myself. I really don't like or prefer speaking about myself. I would rather write it down.
PEM: How important is your Pacific Islander identity in the poems you create?
VN: It is very important. I am Proud to be a Tongan American Woman and you can see it in all my creations: poetry, performance, singing, and painting.
PEM: What do you feel has been the most empowering poem you have written?
VN: Hmmmm. That's a hard question. All my poems have come to me during times that I didn't feel so empowered and in that moment, I wanted to empower myself and others. I knew that if I am going through this someone else must be going through it too, so I wrote the poem. I don't just have one poem that empowers me the most. All of them empower me in their own way.
PEM: How can writing become something liberating for our youth?
VN: It is liberating for our youth because the paper and pen will never judge you, hurt you or criticize you. It is a safe place where you can only be yourself. Nothing less and nothing short of that. Writing gives you the freedom and power to create a world that you want, that you cause, that exists when you say. Writing listens and waits for you.
PEM: Any final advice for aspiring writers?
VN: Be Yourself. Do your Best. And Never, Never Give Up.
