Albert Wendt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Albert Wendt ONZ CNZM
Wendt in 2013
Born	(1939-10-27) 27 October 1939 (age 85) Apia, Samoa
Nationality	Samoan
Education	New Plymouth Boys' High School
Alma mater	Victoria University
Occupation	Author academic
Notable work	Sons for the Return Home (1973) Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979)
Partner(s)	Reina Whaitiri
Awards	Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement (2012) Icon Award (2018)
Scientific career
Institutions	The University of Auckland, University of the South Pacific

Albert Tuaopepe Wendt (born 27 October 1939) is a famous Samoan poet and writer. He lives in New Zealand and is one of the most important writers in the Oceania region.

Some of his well-known books include Sons for the Return Home, published in 1973. This book was even made into a movie in 1979. Another important work is Leaves of the Banyan Tree, published in 1979.

Besides writing, Albert Wendt has also been a university professor. He taught at universities in Samoa, Fiji, Hawaii, and New Zealand. From 1988 to 2008, he was a professor of New Zealand literature at the University of Auckland.

Wendt has received many special awards for his writing. He won the Commonwealth Writers Prize twice for the Asia-Pacific region. He also received several top awards at the New Zealand Book Awards. In 2012, he won the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction. In 2018, he got an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.

In 2013, he was given the Order of New Zealand. This is New Zealand's highest award for citizens. It recognized his big role in creating Pacific literature written in English.

Early Life and Education

Albert Wendt was born in Apia, Western Samoa (now called Samoa) in 1939. He grew up in Samoa with his eight brothers and sisters. His father worked as a plumber. Even though he has some German family history, he considers his family to be "totally Samoan."

In 1952, Albert Wendt received a scholarship to study in New Zealand. He went to New Plymouth Boys' High School and finished in 1957. While at school, he had some poems and a short story printed in the school's magazine.

After high school, he studied teaching at Ardmore Teachers' College in 1959. Then, he went to Victoria University of Wellington. He earned a Master of Arts degree in History in 1964. His master's paper was about the Mau movement. This was Samoa's fight for independence from colonialism in the early 1900s.

While at university, he started publishing his writing in magazines. These included the New Zealand School Journal and the New Zealand Listener. In 1963, he won an award for his short story "The Name of the Game." He was inspired by other Polynesian writers like Alistair Te Ariki Campbell and Hone Tuwhare.

Literary Journey

Writing in the Pacific Islands: 1965–1987

In 1965, Albert Wendt went back to Samoa. He became the headmaster of Samoa College. He kept sending his poems and short stories to New Zealand magazines. In 1972, he wrote two plays. One was called Comes the Revolution and the other was The Contract.

Around this time, he started writing his long novel Leaves of the Banyan Tree. But it was very long, so he put it aside. Instead, he finished Sons for the Return Home first, which came out in 1973. This book was about a young Samoan man's experiences in New Zealand. In 1979, it became the first movie about Pacific people in New Zealand.

In 1974, Wendt became a senior lecturer at the University of the South Pacific. He worked in Suva and at the Samoan center. He wrote articles about how colonialism affected Pacific arts and culture. He also put together collections of poems from different Pacific islands.

In 1974, he published a collection of short stories called Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree. These stories were like modern fables. Two stories from this book were later made into a movie in 1989. His first poetry book, Inside Us the Dead: Poems 1961 to 1974, came out in 1976. A shorter novel, Pouliuli (meaning "darkness"), was published in 1977.

Wendt's big family story, Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979), won a major book award in 1980. From 1982 to 1987, he was a professor of Pacific literature at the University of the South Pacific. He also held a high leadership position there.

Later Career in New Zealand: 1988–Present

In 1988, Albert Wendt became the first professor of New Zealand literature at the University of Auckland. He was also the first Pacific Islander to be an English professor at that university.

Later in his career, he helped edit important collections of Pacific writing. These included Nuanua (1995) and Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English (2003). The Whetu Moana collection won an award in 2004. It was special because it was the first collection of modern Polynesian poetry in English edited by Polynesian people.

Wendt's later books include poetry collections like Shaman of Visions (1984) and Photographs (1995). His short story collection In The Birth and Death of the Miracle Man (1986) also features stories set in Samoa.

His novel Ola (1991) is about a woman traveling the world. It explores ideas of faith and identity. This book won the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 1992. Black Rainbow (1992) is a thrilling story about a future New Zealand. In 1994, he received the Order of Merit of Samoa for his work in education and literature.

In 1999, he was a visiting professor at the University of Hawaiʻi. In 2001, he received another special award, becoming a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He won the Senior Pacific Islands Artist's Award in 2003. His first play, The Songmaker's Chair, was performed that year. In 2004, he received the Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture. Victoria University also gave him an honorary Doctor of Literature degree in 2005.

He retired from his university job in 2008. In 2009, his novel in verse, The Adventures of Vela, was published. He had started writing it in the 1970s. This book also won him a second Commonwealth Writers Prize. In 2012, he received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement for Fiction. That same year, his family in Samoa gave him their highest traditional title, Maualaivao. In 2013, he received New Zealand's highest civilian honor, the Order of New Zealand.

In 2015, he published a memoir called Out of the Vaipe, the Deadwater. This book was about his early life in Apia. He also released a novel, Breaking Connections, about friends in Auckland. In 2018, he was recognized as one of New Zealand's greatest living artists. He received an Icon Award for this. His poetry was also featured in a special show called UPU in 2020 and 2021.

Impact and Importance

Albert Wendt has been a very important figure in postcolonial literature. This means his writing often explores the effects of countries being ruled by other countries in the past. His books have been published all over the world and translated into many languages.

Experts say that Wendt's works have been key in shaping Pacific literature in English. He helped it grow from oral storytelling to written forms. His most famous work is Sons for the Return Home (1973).

Writers Teresia Teaiwa and Selina Tusitala Marsh have said that Albert Wendt is a truly special figure in the Pacific region. They believe he has inspired many people and challenged how people think about the Pacific.

A documentary film about him, called The New Oceania, was made in New Zealand. It was shown at film festivals and on TV in New Zealand and Australia.

Personal Life

Albert Wendt married Jenny Whyte when he was a young teacher. They had two daughters and a son. One of his daughters, Mele Wendt, was recognized for her work in governance in 2019.

After his marriage ended, Wendt has been in a relationship with Reina Whaitiri since the early 1990s. His cousin, Nathaniel Lees, is an actor. Nathaniel Lees directed and acted in Wendt's play The Songmaker's Chair in 2003. His niece, Lani Wendt Young, is also a writer.

Awards and Honours

• 1980 – Wattie Book of the Year for Leaves of the Banyan Tree
• 1992 – Commonwealth Writers Prize in the Asia-Pacific Region for Ola
• 1994 – Order of Merit of Samoa for services to education and literature
• 2001 – Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature
• 2003 – Senior Pacific Arts Award, Arts Pasifika Awards
• 2004 – Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture
• 2004 – Montana Book Award for Whetu Moana
• 2010 – Commonwealth Writers Prize in the Asia-Pacific Region for The Adventures of Vela
• 2012 – Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement in Fiction
• 2013 – Order of New Zealand
• 2018 – Icon Award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation

Selected Works

Here are some of Albert Wendt's important books and collections:

Novels, Short Stories, and Memoirs

• Sons for the Return Home (1973)
• Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree: And Other Stories (1974)
• Pouliuli (1977)
• Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979)
• Ola (1991)
• Black Rainbow (1992)
• The Adventures of Vela (2009)
• Out of the Vaipe, The Deadwater: A Writer's Early Life (2015)

Poetry Collections

• Inside Us the Dead. Poems 1961 to 1974 (1976)
• Shaman of Visions (1984)
• Photographs (1995)

Plays

• Comes the Revolution (1972)
• The Contract (1972)
• The Songmaker's Chair (2004)

Edited Collections

• Lali: A Pacific Anthology (1980)
• Nuanua: Pacific Writing in English since 1980 (1995)

See also

In Spanish: Albert Wendt para niños