Sista, Stanap Strong!: A Vanuatu Women's Anthology

by Mikaela Nyman (Editor), Rebecca Tobo Olul-Hossen (Editor)

Sista, Stanap Strong! is an anthology of new writing from Vanuatu by three generations of women—and the first of its kind. With poetry, fiction, essay, memoir, and song, its narrative arc stretches from the days of blackbirding to Independence in 1980 to Vanuatu's coming of age in 2020. Most of these writers are ni-Vanuatu living in Vanuatu. Some have set down roots in New Zealand, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Canada. Some were born overseas and have made Vanuatu their home. One is just twenty; another is an octogenarian. The writers in this anthology have chosen to harness the coloniser’s language, English, for their own purposes. They are writing against racism, colonialism, misogyny, and sexism. Writing across bloodlines and linguistic boundaries. Professing their love for ancestors, offspring, and language— Bislama, vernacular, and English. What these writers also have in common is a sharp eye for detail, a love of words, a deep connection to Vanuatu, and a willingness to share a glimpse of their world. Includes a foreword by Viran Molisa Trief. Cover art: Juliette Pita

Genres: Short Stories, Poetry, Indigenous, Fiction, Anthologies

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Rosamund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looked at dispassionately, the quality of writing in this anthology is hugely variable but I don't care. It is so exciting and important to hear women's voices from Vanuatu. I had no idea quite how harshly patriarchal it is as a society but strength and determination shines through the selected essays, stories and poems.

[Suzesmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

68 📗🇻🇺VANUATU 🇻🇺When I was researching the Pacific, I had nearly given up on finding ni-Vanuatu writers, especially women. And then I stumbled across this anthology published this year by Victoria University Press. Oh my, I nearly cried with joy! It’s so good, and such an important project. It showcases poetry and prose of Vanuatu women writers from all strata and islands of this beautiful country. A must read. Bravo 👏🏼

[Anwen Hayward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fascinating collection of essays, stories and poems by women writers from Vanuatu. I knew absolutely nothing about Vanuatu before I read it, except for the fact that it's a pretty assured winning answer on BBC's Pointless, and now I feel like I have a whole bunch of things to further research, particularly about Vanuatu's political history. A book that makes you want to read more and more and more about its subject can only be a very good book.

As other reviews have said, some of the pieces in here are more polished than others, but I don't think that's to the book's detriment, honestly. I actually really appreciated the wide range of voices. Many of the women here have never been published previously, and several of them, going by their bios at the end of the book, don't have a background in writing. To me, that adds to the authenticity of the anthology. It isn't just a collection of writing by academics and people with links to the publishing world; it's more varied than that.

On that note, there are some voices in here that I was really captivated by, and that I hope to see write more in the future. Highlights for me were:

A Strong Woman - Sharyn Wobur
Call Me, Dad - Yasmine Bjornum
I've Had Enough - Irene Abbock
The Octagonal House - Nicole Colmar
Mared [M-aa-r-e-d] - Savianna Light

And my absolute favourite was National Anthem of Passivity, by Kali Regenvanu. It's short enough for me to reproduce in its entirety here:

Sweet hymn of changed tide
Ballad of freedom and light
Where did they hide you?

We have been shut up
All I can hear is silence
There is no song here.

Overall, a great introduction to some of the voices writing in Vanuatu today. As the introduction to the book acknowledges, the corpus of literature from Vanuatu is small at the moment, but growing, and I'm hoping to see a lot more of it before too long.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ReadAroundTheWorld #Vanuatu

This is a brave anthology of writing from three generations of Vanuatu women ranging from twenty to eighty years of age. Most of the writers are ni-Vanuatu living in Vanuatu, some have emigrated to New Zealand and elsewhere. The writing is a collection of short stories, essays, poems and songs, with some opinion pieces and life advice thrown in, mostly in English, with some written in Bislama.

The themes include gender issues, feminism, colonialism and family. Some of the stories date back to the archipelago’s transition in 1980 from the New Hebrides, managed by the French and English, to the independent Republic of Vanuatu. Like all anthologies the problem for me is that it feels like a taste-tester, and the engaging stories always end too soon. I applaud the efforts in bringing together a collection of literature from a country which to date has had a very sparse literary history, with a paucity of female authors. I hope we will read more from these powerful women in days to come.

[Shane McClendon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an anthology with some excellent writing about the pacific island country of Vanuatu. However, while there are some great works here, there are some horrible ones as well. The poetry in this collection falls somewhere between laughably bad and physically painful, and many of the essays and short stories feel like they have no purpose. Here are the texts that I believe are noteworthy:

Fantastic works that everyone should read:
“The Bitterness of Sugarcane” - Losana Nautman
“Call me, Dad” - Yasmine Bjornum

Well written works that are worth reading:
“Kava and Women” - Sarah Doyle
“A Christmas Miracle” - Bush Vasconcellos-Neill
“The Long Journey: Political Acceptance of Women” - May Jack Kaviamu
“Mared [M-aa-r-e-d]” - Savianna Light

The only good poem in the entire collection:
“And she Wept” - Nancy Gaselina Palmer

Overall, I am disappointed with the quality of this anthology. I seriously cannot express how bad the poetry is.

[leyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

"And she wept
Even in her grave
For her Daughters"

I knew nothing about Vanuatu going into this anthology, but it was a really eye-opening and beautiful collection of literature. It gave me a lot of cultural and historical insight into the country, and I really enjoyed the mix of perspectives and topics covered. With discussions on patriarchy, colonialism, politics, abuse, and family, you gain a sense of what it is like to be a woman in Vanuatu.

I especially enjoyed reading the essay “The Long Journey: Political Acceptance of Women” by Mary Jack Kaviamu which talked about her experience in politics and the difficulties she faced.
Some of my other favourites include:
- Dirty White - Jane Kanas
- And She Wept - Nancy Gaselona Palmer
- What I remember - Telstar Jimmy
- Mared [M-AA-R-E-D] - Savianna Licht

[Sydney Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly recent anthology of women’s voices from Vanuatu. I was a bit intimidated by this read due to my very on and off relationships with anthologies. I found myself really loving the poetry and bits of history, but the short stories often left me a bit confused.

Happy to have read from ni-Vanuatu women, but I hope to be able to see more works of fiction from the people.

(Mathematically a 3.34)

[A.V.S Pranavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful anthology of stories told by Vanuatuan women touching multiple topics such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, the struggles of a single woman, the representation of women in politics, the expatriate experience, and many more which affected the women both before and after the independence. Told in various formats like short stories, interviews, poems, etc, this provided a kaleidoscopic view of Vanuatu through the lens of women. A very good read.

[Sol Canny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another super interesting anthology from the pacific, this time from the Melanesian Vanuatu. Poetry, short stories, essays, and personal accounts of the life of Ni-Vanuatu women fighting against the kastom . Hemi taem naoia that I visited this aéreas of the world, even if only through these stories… for now 😉

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice anthology of Vanuatu women writers. Overall a very strong anthology. It was held back a little by what seems to be a very short length limit on the pieces - I think several of them could have benefited from a few extra pages, especially the fiction offerings. But I saw the tumultuous story of the publication of this work, and I am very glad that it exists for us to read.

[Dolf van der Haven · Rating 5 out of 5]

#110: Vanuatu 🇻🇺.
A brilliant anthology from the hitherto unknown (to me) island state of Vanuatu. All written by women, these poems, short stories, essays and other writings expose Vanuatu society, which is still very much patriarchal. Great reading!

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a varied anthology, combining fiction, essays and poetry in English and Bislama. Gender relations, colonialism, kava and family are prominent themes, and the whole is a great reflection upon Vanuatu life.

[Angelina]

read around the world challenge: Vanuatu 🇻🇺
"It must be nice to be a man and have the option not to care"

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Country: Vanuatu

[Plain Flawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-put-together collection of writings that span 3 generations of women and different milestones in the history of Vanuatu. Pieces are mostly written in English with vernacular giving the book some colour. Love that different genres are employed from poetry to short stories to memoirs to song. Don't you love the cover art? Must read!

[Anne's Bookish Travels · Rating 4 out of 5]

✅ The Bitterness of Sugarcane
✅ Leiniaru, the girl from Pele Island who picks the fruit of the Niaru tree
✅ A Letter to Granddad Isno

I want to go back into the anthology at a later time because I'm interested in reading more!