Shooting Star by Daren Kamali

Tonight a shooting star
kissed my lips

Its bright spark
shone in my eyes
reflecting love
from the lover in me
My face could not hide
such vulnerability
connecting
affection through my writings
to reality

Tonight a shooting star
kissed my lips

Posted with permission from Daren Kamali
Editor this week: Michelle Elvy

Daren Kamali gets around. A poet of Fijian, Wallis/Futuna and Scottish descent, he was born and raised in Suva, Fiji and arrived in Aotearoa in 1992. He's been writing and reciting poetry most recently in Iowa, as part of the Iowa Writers' Programme. I asked Daren some brief questions about his poem 'Shooting Star' and a few other things. I hope you enjoy hearing more from this poet in this exchange. Thank you, Daren, for sharing your words with  the Tuesday Poem collective this week!  –ME

Let’s talk first about your poem 'Shooting Star'. Do you think this is a typical poem, for you? Is there such a thing? 
'Shooting Star' is very different from what I normally write. It’s a very short piece but it tells the reader a lot. Love for family and friends I can write about and tell either directly or in a parallel angle juxtaposed to the Pacific Ocean or tropical blue skies. This, however, is a piece woken by a feeling within for how love or broken love is like that shooting star. I guess the reader may have their own interpretation of a Shooting Star in their life or not. This is part of a collection. 

This poem captures that feeling of connection and vulnerability – things central to the notion of love. Are those themes you tend to explore a lot in poetry? 
No. I don’t normally write love poems. I may include images and connotations of romance, fantasy or erotica sometimes in my poems, especially in my trilogy Squidluminaries, such as Manteress, the underwater goddess, or Teuthis Drinks AfakasiTwist from my second published book of Pacific poems Squid Out of Water: the evolution – or a few more poems from my first book Tales, Poems and Songs from the Underwater World. As for the four letter word, I have never spoken/written directly like this before. 

‘Shooting Star’ has such an optimistic feeling. Do you tend to exude such positivity in your poetry, or is there are darker side as well? 
This was an inspired on the spot piece I wrote in Iowa City while I was on the International Writers Residency (Aug–Nov 2014). No, I am not always optimistic in my writings. Normally in my books, Teuthis, who becomes a man from the Giant Squid (Kuita) over centuries, never really finds true love and always seems he is in search of Love, from sea to street to sky. In my last two published collections, you will find predominantly darker sides, dark secrets, beliefs, loyalties, conflicts, half truths, half lies etc, all imagined and experienced from a Pacific Islander's dream/perspective. 

Some people say the short poem is underrated. What do you think? 
I have never thought about rating before. As a performance poet I used to write lengthy poems but I have come to respect how much one can say in so little words. I must say, I think a poem is a poem. If it needs to be short to tell the story or myth, as long as it is well thought out, structured and comes out right, the length of the poem doesn’t really matter. 

Other poets I’ve interviewed have talked about music. What music influences your work? Is there a connection between music and poetry for you? 
More recently I have been enjoying jazz music. I’ve always been a reggae and hip hop lover. I would listen to classical music sometimes. 

Your first two poetry collections are called Tales, Poems and Songs from the Underwater World (English/Fijian/ Ukrainian, Anahera, NZ 2011) and Squid Out of Water: the evolution ( Ala Press, Hawai’i, 2014). I can’t help but notice references to the sea in your titles and your work. It’s stating the obvious, perhaps, but do tell how the sea is central to your life.
 I am a Pacific Islander and I was always surrounded by the ocean, growing up in Fiji and here in AotearoaNZ – but this is not the reason I write about the ocean. The real reason I came back to the ocean theme is because in 2001 I wrote a song titled Giant Squid and a week later it was in The NZ Herald that a giant squid washed up onto a beach in Wellington. I adopted the squid theme, mixed it with different Nesian mythologies and stories, creating a world parallel to the ocean and earth and wrote stories through poetry since then. The sea is my special sanctuary. 

Sample from 'What becomes of the Flying Squid?' By DK 

The giant knew

his soul mate was too good

to roam the underworld forever

warned three times

she held on for dear life

tangled in his tentacles

like many lovers gone before

never wanting to let go

The giant felt tricked

sacrificed his lust for freedom

The baby shark filled the va (space)

between his sere (song) and lomani (love)

He had no choice but to commit

despite his zest for adventure

He wrapped his Tabua (whale tooth)

in masi cloth (Fijian tapa cloth)

folding his glow and shark

in fine mat

tucked them neatly

in the corners of his Pacific

he swam back

through currents and time

into her world

landing in a place

he thought was forever

He fell in love

with an everlasting fantasy

She made him strong

he let her shine

before the invader of dreams arrived

Dark angels pulled on his conscience

past demons grabbed

the mat from under him

causing him to fall back

into the darkness

filled with all kinds of possibilities

pulling him back

to a place he thought

never existed

Your heritage is Fijian/ Wallis/ Futuna/ Scottish. How does such a diverse background impact your place in the world – as an individual and as a poet? 
I am proud of my diverse cultural background although I still have yet to visit Wallis and Futuna and Scotland. Fiji is my birth place and an island that will always represent who I really am as an individual. Fiji and AotearoaNZ have nurtured me into the man, father and poet I am today. When I am on stage, especially the international stage, I am always bragging about Pacific poetry or Pacific Literature and representing to the best, as I want people to see that we carry the Pacific in us. I don’t only represent myself, I represent us all. Vinaka. 

Tell us about your recent stint at the Iowa International Writers’ Program. And what did you write in that time? 
International Writers' Program 2014 in Iowa City  – what an experience. Firstly, I want to extend a vinaka vaka levu, a big thank you, to Creative NZ, Christopher Merill, Hugh Ferrer, Natasa Durovicova, the staff and participants of the International Writers' Program 2014 at the University of Iowa. I am very grateful to be the recipient of this prestigious award. I am also very honored and humbly proud to have participated as the first NZ/Pacific Island writer alongside twenty-nine other prominent writers from twenty-nine different countries. Over the duration of ten weeks we grew to know and respect each other which in turn has empowered and motivated me in my writing and outlook on life. 

The insight and exposure into different forms of writings, performances and collaborations, especially around poetry in all its academia, its simplicity and cleverness, from very innovative experts from various genres of literature was a true blessing. I want to especially thank John and Virginia Stamler for being amazing hosts, offering me a cottage at Lexington Ave to write, and also opening their home and hearts to me as a resident and guest to their home for the duration of the program. Today I know different writers from different cultures and backgrounds, such an ocean of knowledge, networks and international relations were developed as a result of this residency. The world has become a smaller place. 

IWP14 is the highlight of my writing career so far in the last seventeen years. This residency has broadened my perspective and understanding of international writing process and writers, and I realized the need for more Pacific literature to be represented on the world stage on an international level. I am deeply encouraged to continue writing and promoting Pacific literature as far and wide as possible. As a result of this residency I’m in the completion stages of the final manuscript to the trilogy Squidluminaries. I’ve also started working on the manuscripts Mango Bar Collections and 101 Broken Love Poems. During the residency I engaged in readings and presentations at the Iowa City Book Festival, University of Iowa, Shambaugh House and Prairie Lights. I was also invited to present and perform at Buena Vista University, North Iowa, and also in New Orleans at Barb College and in Washington DC where I performed and facilitated a poetry workshop at ‘Split This Rock’. I also visited the Poetry Foundation in Chicago and New York City. Thank you all so much for making this experience memorable.

Bula in Iowa City

He ties his sulu vataga
firmly around his waist
wears an impressive
Bula shirt

A salusalu of shells
hangs from his necklace
He notice people wondering
with their eyes on his jandles

Who is this guy?
Where is he from?
behind dark sunnies
he sees them all

Oh how mystically magic it feels
What an honor to be here
from many countries
I get to represent here

From many cultures
I get to be here
among many amazing writers
I am here

From the ocean
I give thanks
I am HERE..

dk

Here we have an example of your spoken word poetry, with 'Giant Unleashed'. Tell us more about this kind of poetry. What kinds of poems do you tend to 'perform'? 
It has really evolved over time, I still enjoy representing the Pacific in my poetry but slowly exploring other avenues in terms of getting more bold and detailed while performing. Also continuously challenging myself, like with my 101 Broken Love Poems series in the making at the moment. 

What’s next for you? 
At the moment on the rewriting stage of the final of my trilogy to be published in 2015. Also working on a couple for more writing residencies in the new year. People and places inspire me. Vinaka.dk

Thank you, Daren Kamali! –ME

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Daren Kamali is  a poet of Fijian, Wallis, Futuna and Scottish descent. Born and raised in Suva, Fiji, he arrived in Aotearoa in 1992. He has a  Bachelor in Creative Arts, MIT,2014, and graduated from the International Writers Program 2014. He has just completed a stint as a fellow at the University of Iowa writers' program, Aug - Nov 2014.  Other honours include work in the Fulbright/CNZ Pacific Writer in Residence programme and the University of Hawai’i, Manoa, Center of Pacific Island Studies, Aug–Nov 2012. His books include Tales, Poems and Songs from the Underwater World (English/Fijian/ Ukrainian, 2011) and Squid Out of Water: the evolution (2014). His poetry has been featured in Hawai’i Review 2014, Landfall 2014 and Ika Journal 2014.   

Links:
DK's books.
DK's New Zealand Book Council page.
DK in Iowa.
DK last year at Tuesday Poem: 'He has Superpowers', posted by Robert Sullivan.
  

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Michelle Elvy is a writer, editor and manuscript assessor based in the Bay of Islands and currently travelling in SE Asia. Her poetry, fiction and reviews can be found most recently in Ika, Takahe, Revolution John and Entropy. She edits at Flash Frontier: An Adventure in Short Fiction and Blue Five Notebook. She is also an associate editor for the forthcoming Flash Fiction International (W.W. Norton, 2015) and co-ordinator of National Flash Fiction Day. More at michelleelvy.com and Glow Worm. 

'Chemotherapy' by Mary McCallum and 'In the corner of my mind, a boy' by Frankie McMillan

Chemotherapy by Mary McCallum

who knew she was there

hidden inside that thing that turns

her girl upside down and inside out

(poison, really, a small inefficient

killing field) let loose in a body still

young enough to smell of milk

in the morning, one the mother must

return to sit beside and stand over    

to stroke the soft cheek, catch the soft

vomit, be steel to all that softness — a shield —

and, when called upon, to scream

like a banshee         yet, for the most part,

sits beside is all she can do, hands in lap

but running the spellcheck just now

over the girl’s story — all those

words, sharp teeth biting at the last

of life’s full belly — there she is! mother

over and over:  the unexpected heart

of the matter, with key on one side,

and happy on the other

© Mary McCallum

In the corner of my mind, a boy by Frankie McMillan

This morning watching people in the street

I remembered the book I’d forgotten to write –  

The Boy Who Lived In A Wardrobe

which I promptly changed to

The Boy in the Wardrobe, this meant

it could be flash fiction as living implies

a day’s activities which in the case of the boy

would normally be kicking a ball

around the overgrown tennis court, or finding

a lost bird in the hedge

then there is the business of eating, licking fingers

washing and scrubbed knees all of which

are impractical in the dim wardrobe smelling

of furs and the indecision of shoes

and though I can present the child however

I wish a chance encounter might be best

say, a glimpse through a key hole 

to where a small boy sits 

playing with his fingers in what would be

my parents' wardrobe, the cotton dresses

falling on his shoulders

my father’s trousers a stack of chimneys

which brings me back to the parade of people –  

how they walk towards deeds   

they never knew they had within them

©Frankie McMillan, previously published in Sport

Poems posted with permission by the authors.

Editor: Michelle Elvy

I chose to share poems by Mary McCallum and Frankie McMillan today because they have just completed their tasks as judges for the 2014 National Flash Fiction Day competition, and this is a wonderful way to honour and thank these two individuals for their talents and efforts. NFFD prize-givings occurred simultaneously on Sunday, June 22, in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch -- and Mary attended the Wellington celebration while Frankie was at the Christchurch event.  

Besides being many other things -- publisher, editor, novelist, poet and generally enthusiastic supporter of many literary endeavours -- Mary is, of course, co-founder of Tuesday Poem as well. I got to know Frankie's writing from her poetry first, then from her flash fiction which won last year's National Flash Fiction Day competition -- whose title 'In the nick of time, a deer' should be noted here for its parallel rhythm to the poem posted today -- and then I was pleased to read it much more closely as I reviewed stacks of stories for the forthcoming Flash Fiction International (W. W. Norton, 2015), for which Frankie's story 'Truthful Lies' was selected for inclusion. This year, we were excited that both Frankie and Mary agreed to judge the NFFD  competition and present awards on Sunday. 

From the judges' astute commentary on the winning 2014 stories, readers can see how Mary and Frankie went about selecting the winners for this year's competition. And their poems featured here today demonstrate poetry that tells stories, stories that are poetic. 

In  'Chemotherapy', I particularly admire the opening lines, how we are plunged right into the middle of this story, with the uncertainty of 'who knew she was there' balanced by the details that show a constancy and a presence all along -- in the milk, in the soft moments, in the screams -- and then the ending with the attention to detail and care of spellchecking every letter, every small moment on the page and in her daughter's life. This poem is inspired by Mary's association and friendship with Jan, the mother of Harriet Rowland, who wrote The Book of Hat, which Mary's Makaro Press published earlier this year. It's an extraordinary story, and Mary's poem is a subtle tribute to a complicated mother-daughter relationship, full of love and even joy in the face of life and death. 

'In the corner of my mind, a boy' is similarly a glimpse at a life -- only this time it's the imaginative life in/of the mind of a writer, contemplating all the possibilities and small details of this boy whom we can see briefly but fully through a very few words on the page. I love how Frankie plays with the idea of poetry and flash here -- very compelling for me. And how we see the boy through the keyhole -- that is the very way writers of excellent flash may think about bringing a full story to realisation. It's a glimpse, a small moment of light through which we may see activity or thought or history or even dresses and trousers, gently swaying against each other. And the ending says it all -- how poetry and flash hold such tremendous energy and potential, like the parade of people that Frankie comes back to:

how they walk towards deeds   

they never knew they had within them

These poems reveal a fine line between poetry and storytelling, and finely tuned writing. Thank you, Mary and Frankie, for sharing your talents!

After you've read this week's Tuesday Poem, please check out some of the other poems offered by the Tuesday Poets who appear in the sidebar.

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Mary McCallum (centre in the photo, with other Wellington writers from the NFFD celebration) is an award-winning poet and fiction writer with a children’s book Dappled Annie and the Tigrish newly published by Gecko Press. Her novel, The Blue, was published in 2007, reprinted twice in 2008 and translated into Hebrew in 2009. The Blue won the New Zealand Society of Authors Hubert Church Best First Book Award for Fiction and the Readers’ Choice Award at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. She has won and been nominated for key awards and bursaries, including the Lillian Ida Smith Award in 2004. Her fiction and poetry have been published in a variety of literary journals.

Mary is a recent convert to flash fiction which she sees as a terrific hybrid of poetry and fiction. She placed third in the 2013 National Flash Fiction Day competition. She earns her living as a freelance writer and tutor, is the co-curator of online Tuesday Poem, and has recently started up a niche publisher Mākaro Press. She lives in Wellington with her family.

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Frankie McMillan (far left in the photo, with the other Canterbury writers from the NFFD celebration) is a short story writer and poet. Her short story collection, The Bag Lady’s Picnic and other stories, was published by Shoal Bay Press. In 2005 she was awarded the CNZ Todd Bursary. In 2008 and 2009 her work was selected for the Best NZ Fiction anthologies. Many of her stories have also been broadcast on radio. In 2013 she was the winner of the National Flash Fiction Day award.

McMillan is also an award-winning poet. Her poetry collection, Dressing for the Cannibals, was published in 2009 and in that same year she won the NZ Poetry Society International competition. Recent poetry appears in Turbine, Jaam, Landfall, Trout, Snorkel, Sport, The London Grip, Shenandoah and Best NZ poems 2012, and her work will appear in the upcoming Flash Fiction International  (W. W. Norton, 2015).  This year she is the co-recipient of the Ursula Bethell writing residency at Canterbury University. Her next book of poetry, There Are No Horses in Heaven, is to be published by CUP in early 2015.

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This week's editor, Michelle Elvy, is a writer, editor and manuscript assessor based in the Bay of Islands but currently in Indonesia aboard her sailboat, her home of more than ten years. She edits at Flash Frontier: An Adventure in Short Fiction, Blue Five Notebook and Awkword Paper Cut, where she curates a monthly column, Writers on Writing (which recently featured Tuesday Poets Harvey Molloy and PS Cottier)  She is also Associate Editor for the forthcoming Flash Fiction International (W.W. Norton, 2015) and co-ordinator of National Flash Fiction Day. Her poetry, fiction, travel writing, creative non-fiction and reviews have been published most recently or are forthcoming in Eastbourne: An Anthology, Html Giant, Ika, JAAM, JMWW, PANK, Takahe and 2014: A Year of Stories.  

michelleelvy.com // Momo //  Glow Worm