Few novelists of the Pacific islands could be less derivative in terms of the real vision into the life and character of non-Western society.... Even fewer novels, Western or Third World, can reach the strength and artistic power of Pouliuli."" - World Literature Today

An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.

Journey through the many stories and worlds of the immortal Vela, the Samoan song maker, poet, and storyteller--Vela, who was so red and ugly at birth they called him the Cooked; Vela the lonely admirer of pigs and the connoisseur of feet; Vela the lover of song maker Mulialofa. Follow Vela down through centuries as he encounters the single-minded society of the Tagata-Nei and the Smellocracy of Olfact and recounts the stories of Lady Nafanua, the fearless warrior queen, before whom travelling chroniclers still bow down today. A Pacific epic, this novel stretches hundreds of years before the arrival of Papalagi to the present day and fuses the great indigenous oral traditions of storytelling and Western poetry.

An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.

What happens when an old man wakes up one morning and finds that everything around him now fills with revulsion? What happens when Faleasa Osovae, the highest ranking alii in the village of Maalaelua, feigns madness and throws away his responsibilities as a chief?

A dynamic group has emerged in Auckland whose members refer to themselves as the Tribe. Mainly Polynesian, they grow up together, rise from poverty and become successful professionals, bound by love and fierce loyalty. At the centre, is Aaron, who lives at the edge of danger, shady dealings and self-destruction. When Daniel, receives a call in Hawaii telling him that Aaron has been killed, he returns to New Zealand, and steps into the most dangerous crisis the Tribe has faced. They must confront the truth about who Aaron is and what they, as the Tribe, have become, while facing the infidelity and greed that threatens to tear the group apart.

This new collection by Albert Wendt moves from the warm valley winds of Hawai'i to the seasons of a garden in Auckland, New Zealand. From Manoa to a Ponsonby Garden is a collection of poignant, extraordinary poems - alert and self-confident, challenging of literary conventions, rough-hewn yet imbued with compelling vitalism - by one of our most celebrated writers. Writing, family and the passing of time are constant preoccupations. Opening in Hawai'i, Wendt watches the changing shadows of the mountains from his verandah; considers the nature of mauli, the seat of life; walks protected in his wife's perfumed slipstream to work; and writes to Hone Tuwhare. In the second half, his Ponsonby garden provides the setting and vivid detail for 38 'garden' poems, interspersed with inky, drawn works. If hips need replacing, poets grow older, tsunami destroy and friends slip away, still a spirit of renewal pervades this collection.

I lana tusi ‘ua ta’ua ‘o le P�uliuli, t�tou te fetaui ai ma le toea’ina e ‘autu i ai le tala a le atamai o ali’i, le susuga i le ali’i tusitala ‘o Maualaivao Albert Wendt, ‘o Faleasa Osovae, e fitusefulu ma le ono tausaga o lona matua, ma ‘o le ali’i sili i le afio’aga o Malaelua. ‘Ua maleifua ‘o ia ‘i se tasi taeao ma lona ‘ino’ino ‘ua matu� matui� tele ‘i mea ma tagata ‘uma e pito i sili ona pele ‘i� te ia, ‘aemaise le fa’ate’ia ‘o ia lava ina ‘ua ia iloa lona sao i lenei fa’afitauli. E puna le vai o le t�f� loloto ma le mamana o le utaga i le P�uliuli, ‘ona ‘o su’esu’ga a le ali’i tusitala e fa’amatala ai le m�fua’aga o le fa’alēaog�ina o le m�faufau o le sa’o matua o se nu’u. ‘O le P�uliuli ‘o se tusi e fa’aali ai m�faufauga loloto o le tusitala i pulega fa’akolone i se sosaiete i fet�ula’iga ala o tū ma aga fa’aonap� nei, ‘olo’o tūmau pea le m�losi ma le tūmau i aso nei e pei ‘o lona ulua’i lomiga i le fasefulu tausaga ‘ua mavae i le gagana Peretania. ‘O le ulua’i fa’aliliuga lenei o le P�uliuli i le Gagana S�moa e le tama’ita’i tusitala ‘o Sia Figiel (ma lana v�ega fa’aliliupu �loa’ia o le Gagana S�moa: ‘o Manumaua Dr. Luafata Simanu-Klutz, Alvina Lutu Perelini, LV Letalu ma Dr. Niusila Faamanatu-Eteuati). ‘Ole‘� ‘avea lea ma se taimi muamua e momoli ai manatu ma m�faufauga o Maualaivao i la t�tou gagana, ‘ina ‘ia fa’aopoopo i le tuputupu a’e o tusitusiga ‘olo’o ‘ua ‘uma ona fa’aliliu mai i isi gagana, i le Gagana S�moa. Pouliuli, Maualaivao Albert Wendt’s novel that explores the intricacies of the human condition and the complexity of Samoan society, is translated by Sia Figiel into the Samoan language for the first time.