Pacific Islander poetry has existed for thousands of years and continues to exist today in many forms, including in books. Below are fifteen poetry books by Pacific Islanders that we recommend. There are many more poetry books beyond this list. If you have others to recommend, please add them in the comments below.

1. ‘Āina Hānau by Brandy Nālani McDougall (Kanaka ‘Ōiwi) 

   
   

   “McDougall’s poems flow seamlessly between ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i and English, forming rhythms and patterns that impress on the reader a deep understanding of the land. Tracing flows from the mountains to the ocean, from the sky to the earth, and from ancestor to mother to child, these poems are rooted in the rich ancestral and contemporary literature of Hawaiʻi —moʻolelo, moʻokūʻauhau, and mele —honoring Hawaiian ʻāina, culture, language, histories, aesthetics, and futures.”

   
   

   

   
   

2. Always Italicise: how to write while colonised by Alice Te Punga Somerville (Te Āti Awa, Taranaki)

   
   

   “‘Always italicise foreign words’, a friend of the author was advised. In her first book of poetry, Māori scholar and poet Alice Te Punga Somerville does just that. In wit and anger, sadness and aroha, she reflects on ‘how to write while colonised’ – how to write in English as a Māori writer; how to trace links between Aotearoa and wider Pacific, Indigenous and colonial worlds; how to be the only Māori person in a workplace; and how – and why – to do the mahi anyway.”

   
   

   

   
   

3. Ask the Brindled by No’u Revilla (Kanaka ‘Ōiwi) 

   
   

   “Ask the Brindled is a song from the shattered throat that refuses to be silenced. It is a testament to queer Indigenous women who carry baskets of names and stories, ‘still sacred.’ It is a vow to those yet to come: ‘the ea of enough is our daughters / our daughters need to believe they are enough.’”

   
   

   

   
   

4. From Unincorporated Territory [åmot] by Craig Santos Perez (Chamoru)

   
   

   “Through experimental and visual poetry, Perez explores how storytelling can become a symbolic form of åmot, offering healing from the traumas of colonialism, militarism, migration, environmental injustice, and the death of elders.”

   
   

   

   
   

5. Goddess Muscle by Karlo Milo (Tongan, Samoan)

   
   

   “This long-awaited poetry collection from award-winning Pasifika poet Karlo Mila spans work written over a decade. The poems are both personal and political. They trace the effect of defining issues such as racism, poverty, violence, climate change and power on Pasifika peoples, Aotearoa and beyond.”

   
   

   

   
   

6. Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia edited by Evelyn Flores (CHamoru)  and Emelihter Kihleng (Pohnpeian)

   
   

   “For the first time, poetry, short stories, critical and creative essays, chants, and excerpts of plays by Indigenous Micronesian authors have been brought together to form a resounding—and distinctly Micronesian—voice. With over two thousand islands spread across almost three million square miles of the Pacific Ocean, Micronesia and its peoples have too often been rendered invisible and insignificant both in and out of academia. This long-awaited anthology of contemporary indigenous literature will reshape Micronesia’s historical and literary landscape.”

   
   

   

   
   

7. Katūīvei edited by David Eggleton (Rotuman, Tongan), Vaughn Rapatahana (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Te Whiti) and Mere Taito (Rotuman)

   
   

   “This significant collection ranges from long-established voices such as Albert Wendt, Selina Tusitala Marsh and David Eggleton and the powerful newer voices of poets such as Tusiata Avia, Courtney Sina Meredith, Karlo Mila and Grace Iwashita-Taylor to new and emerging voices. Deep and rich, like Moana Oceania itself, it shows Pasifika poetry to be in a constant state of ‘old and new’, of haharagi and lelea‘ mafua, a lively and evolving continuum.”

   
   

   

   
   

8. Manuali’i by Rex Letoa Paget (Samoan) 

   
   

   “Dancing on the delicate tightrope of here, the past, and an imagined future, Manuali’i dives into the heart of grief and loss and love; wraps a tongue around the soft grooves of Samoan words; and rides off into the distance on a Triumph Bonneville. In this dreamy debut, Rex Paget will have you reminiscing on past loves; dancing in the rain; and appreciating the depth and range of human emotion and connection.”

   
   

   

   
   

9. Maori Maid Difficult by Nicola Andrews 

   
   

   “In so many ways Māori Maid Difficult is a first yet it brings to mind generations of Māori poets who have gone before. Smart, sharp, funny, brittle, supple. Giving and refusing. Irreverent and sensitive. Vulnerable and mysterious. Aroha and hahaha and hā. All at the same time. All in the best ways.” 

   
   

   

   
   

10. My Walk to Equality: Essays, Stories, and Poetry by Papua New Guinean Women edited by Rashmii Amoah Bell (Papua New Guinean) 

    
    

    “The anthology celebrates the contribution of women to Papua New Guinean society. It also sets out some of the problems and issues confronting those women in their daily lives. These issues are set out in an eclectic mix of poetry, essays and short stories. The anthology also challenges the myths and stereotypes often associated with the drive to reduce inequalities in Papua New Guinea.”

    
    

    

    
    

11. Ocean Mother by Arielle Taitano Lowe (CHamoru) 

    
    

    “Ocean Mother weaves together riveting poems from strands of Arielle Taitano Lowe's memories growing up as a Chamoru girl in Guåhan (Guam), layered with realizations she made across the ocean and upon her return home. In this brave act of sharing, Lowe unravels generations of trauma and begins to heal herself, her family, and her home.”

    
    

    

    
    

12. Rangikura by Tayi Tibble (Te Whānau ā Apanui/Ngāti Porou)

    
    

    “At once a coming-of-age and an elegy to the traumas born from colonization, especially the violence enacted against indigenous women, Rangikura interrogates not only the poets’ pain, but also that of her ancestors. The intimacy of these poems will move readers to laughter and tears.”

    
    

    

    
    

13. Sista Stanap Strong edited by Mikaela Nyman and Rebecca Tobo Olul-Hossen (Ni-Vanuatu) 

    
    

    “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.”

    
    

    

    
    

14. We the Gathered Heat: Asian American and Pacific Islander Poetry, Performance, and Spoken Word edited by Franny Choi, Bao Phi, No’u Revilla (Kanaka ‘Ōiwi), and Terisa Siagatonu (Samoan) 

    
    

    “In this thoughtfully curated, intergenerational collection, poets of multiple languages, lands, and waters write against and through the contested terrain of AAPI identity. Too often, Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans are squeezed into the same story. The poets gathered here, and the lineages they represent, exceed this sameness. May this anthology uplift complexities and incite transformation and joy.”

    
    

    

    
    

15. Woven edited by Anne-Marie Te Whiu (Māori)

    
    

    “By anchoring the project in relationality, Woven’s foundation is about how we connect with each other and what we are prepared, as First Nation artists, to offer and receive. The emphasis was about (re)generating poetic First Nations bonds – solidarity, consensus, family, land, oceans, the moon, remembering, dreaming, sharing, opening, mourning, respect, celebrating, finding, losing, healing and more healing.”