Mission fulfilled to publish brother’s poetry

Posted: Monday Jul 08, 2024

After her younger brother’s sudden death, a Dunedin woman made it her mission to share his poems with the world.

Mission fulfilled to publish brother’s poetry | Otago Daily Times Online News (odt.co.nz)

While clearing out his house, the Rev Alofa Ta’asē Lale stumbled across a collection of her brother Fa’afetai Ta’asē’s poems.

"I thought to myself, he never got the chance to publish them, but perhaps that's why I found them, because he wanted me to find them, to publish them for him."

Her brother was born with cerebral palsy and walked with the aid of a stick.

"He was in and out of hospitals when he was younger due to surgeries and to try and help him to walk more.

"So, he spent quite a bit of time writing."

He was a "prolific writer" and loved writing poetry and short stories, she said.

Mr Ta’asē died unexpectedly in October, 2022.

Ms Ta’asē Lale has lived in Dunedin for more than 20 years, working as a mission co-ordinator at Mercy Hospital and as an associate minister at First Church.

She reached out to Dunedin’s Manu Scripts, a publishing and social enterprise focused on telling the stories of Māori and Pasifika communities.

Manu Scripts published his poetry in a book called Polynation: A collection of poetry by Fa’afetai Ta’asē.

"I would never have been able to do this without their help," she said.

The book was launched on Tuesday in a "colourful evening" full of kai and conversation at First Church.

Many of Mr Ta’asē’s poems were reflections of his identity, with some being about experiences — visits to galleries, the movies, or even writing eulogies for funerals.

"One of the good things about this is that he writes through the lens of the disabled, Samoan man, born in New Zealand.

"You've got lots of different lenses that he connects with throughout his writing."

Ms Ta’asē Lale said her brother was determined to be independent and never let adversity stop him from writing.

"We kept talking about publishing his poetry when he was alive, so I suppose it became my mission to make sure that it was done so we could share it with everybody and people could see life through his eyes."

He would have been humbled by the book’s publication, but deep down "quite pleased", Ms Ta’asē Lale said.

"I just wish he was here to promote it and read poems in his own voice."

The book is available on the Manu Scripts website and at Dunedin’s Relics Music Store.