Marsh, Selina Tusitala

IN BRIEF

Selina Tusitala Marsh is a poet and scholar. She was the first person of Pacific descent to graduate with a PhD in English from the University of Auckland, where she now lectures in Māori and Pacific literary studies. She established Pasifika Poetry, an online hub that celebrates the poetry of tagata o te moana nui, the peoples of the Pacific. Her first collection of poems, Fast Talking PI, was published by Auckland University Press in 2009, winning the 2010 NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry.

About the Author

Marsh, Selina Tusitala (1971 –) is a poet and scholar of Samoan, Tuvaluan, Scottish and French descent who lives with her family on Waiheke Island. She was the first person of Pacific descent to graduate with a PhD in English from the University of Auckland, and her 2005 doctoral thesis focused on the first Pacific women poets to publish in English. She now lectures at the University of Auckland, specializing in Māori and Pacific literary studies.

Selina Tusitala Marsh’s poetry has featured in a range of online literary journals, including Blackmail Press and nzepc. Her writing has been widely anthologized and features in the Montana New Zealand Book Award winning Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English. Her work also features in Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English - Whetu Moana II (Auckland University Press/UHP), Best New Zealand Poems 2006, and Niu Voices: Contemporary Pacific Fiction 1. She has performed her poetry at a range of venues and festivals.

As an advocate of Pacific poetry and literature, Selina Tusitala Marsh is the force behind Pasifika Poetry, a companion site of the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre hosted at the University of Auckland. Pasifika Poetry is an online hub that celebrates the poetry of tagata o te moana nui, the peoples of the Pacific, and it features video, audio, text, and interviews with a range of Pacific poets.

Auckland University Press published Selina Tusitala Marsh’s first collection of poetry, Fast Talking PI, in 2009. The book won the 2010 NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry, and it made the top 5 Best Sellers List shortly after publication. Albert Wendt wrote in praise of the book, ‘A new generation of poets has emerged in Aotearoa and the Pacific. Most of that generation are women, and Selina Tusitala Marsh, in this, her first collection, shows she is one of the most gifted and influential members of that generation.’

Cathie Koa Dunsford wrote in the Australian Women’s Book Review, ‘She peppers her poetic narrative with the rhythms and staccato of urban hip hop beats, in tune with slick contemporary themes and voices, showing her and their disregard for the romanticisation of the past and for the politics of the present.’ Nicky Pellegrino writes in the NZ Herald, ‘For Marsh, poetry is an inclusive rather than an elitist art form. She’s particularly enthusiastic about going into schools to perform and encourage students to find their own poetic voices.’

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writers in schools information

Selina Tusitala Marsh is able to speak to students aged 10 years and over. She is happy to discuss her area of specialty, poetry. She can read aloud from her work, speak about her life and work, discuss her writing process, give a poetry performance and run a creative writing workshop. Her Writers in Schools talks will particularly appeal to Māori and Pacific students and audiences, as well as migrant communities. She would prefer to speak to groups of 30-60 students at one time, with a maximum of 200.

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Media links and clips

• Selina Tusitala Marsh on Pasifika Poetry page at nzepc
• Selina Tusitala Marsh at Best New Zealand Poems 2006
• Fast Talking PI on the Auckland University Press site
• Selina Tusitala Marsh’s poem at Blackmail Press

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