Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh performs the poem 'Unity' in the Hub
Earlier this year Dr Selina Marsh – an Auckland-based Pacific poet and scholar of Samoan, Tuvaluan, English, Scottish and French descent – attended as Commonwealth Poet 2016 the Commonwealth Service at London’s Westminster Abbey in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth. For the occasion, she wrote and performed a poem titled Unity.
As part of their writing portfolio, 300 level students of Italian – under the supervision of Dr Marco Sonzogni and Francesca Benocci. PhD Candidate in Literary Translation – have translated Unity poem into Italian, experiencing the individual and collective dimensions that inform every act of translation. The School of Languages and Cultures and Wai-te-ata Press, in partnership with Associate Professor Hon Luamanuvao Laban, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Pasifika), invited Selina to come to Victoria and perform the poem alongside her Italian translators.
The event, held in the Hub was very well attended. Selina graced the audience with a second poem and shared her memories of travelling to London as the 2016 Commonwealth Poet. Literary translation is a powerful celebration of creativity and scholarship across languages and cultures and exemplifies the commitment of the university to cultivating creative capital locally and globally.
