Blue Rain is a fine collection of poems by the Western Samoan author and poet Ruperake Petaia. One of my favourite poems is "Father and Son" which clearly depicts the negative impact a Western education can have on islander relationships by widening the generation gap and introducing cultural change. The stanza with the lines 'suddenly he speaks / and you don't want to hear him / he dresses / and you don't want to see him' conveys rich emotion and conflict with so few words.
"Father and Son" is a great one for PSSC students to memorise for the exams because it is only five stanzas long.
If you haven't checked out Petaia's work, give it a try. Now in his sixties, he is still writing well. Last year his short story "The Challenge" was Highly Commended in the 2011 Commonwealth Short Story Competition.
About Me
- Beth Montgomery
- Victoria, Australia
- I am an author of Young Adult Fiction books. I worked as a teacher in the Pacific Islands for seven years. Whilst in the Solomon Islands I taught PSSC English before the ethnic tension in 2000 forced a change of plans. I love Pacific literature, art and music. You can find me on Facebook at Beth Montgomery Author.
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yes he is...
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you know his work well...
ReplyDeleteMalo Rev
ReplyDeleteI grew up reading and learning abstracts from this great writer. Loved Ruperake Petaia
ReplyDeleteStudied this poem back in college and surprisingly I still know it by heart. amazing how so much is said in so little.
ReplyDeletethis is an awesome poem it remined me to Value my Culture <3
ReplyDeleteCan anyone post the poem for me pls..
ReplyDelete