Field: Writer’s Workshop
Title of research project: Upon a Stone Altar: Loan Words, Place Names, and Poetry in the Pacific
Research Proposal
ABSTRACT: I will spend five weeks in the city of Kolonia on the island of Pohnpei. There I will collect material for my graduate work at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop: a series of poems about Micronesian place names and loan words, which will ultimately become my MFA thesis. My research will focus on gaining familiarity with the Pohnepeian language through immersion and volunteer work in a local public library. Micronesian languages and landscapes are both threatened today due to local cultural shifts and global climate change and are central to the poetry I write. While in Pohnpei, I will gain familiarity with a language and community with which I hope to work as a writer, translator, and editor throughout my career
RESEARCH PROBLEMS I am applying for a Graduate Stanley Award for International Research in order to gather material for my MFA thesis as a poet at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. I wish to spend time in Micronesia, on the volcanic island of Pohnpei, one of four states that make up the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Pohnpei, which translates into ―upon a stone altar,‖ is the largest, highest, and most populous single island in the FSM and is essentially the only place on earth where the Pohnpeian language is spoken. I have been interested in Micronesia and its languages since I worked for one year as an English instructor in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) through the WorldTeach program run by Harvard University’s Center for International Development. There I was introduced to and learned the Marshallese language, which fundamentally altered the direction of my poetry. Currently I am working on a series of poems that engages with translation back and forth between English and Marshallese vocabularies. The use of ―loan words,‖ or words that have jumped from one language family to another (for example, ―garbage‖ is an English word that has been adopted into Marshallese because it had no Marshallese equivalent) is of particular interest to me, as well as local ―place names,‖ which act as reference points in an increasingly global world. These two types of words interest me as a writer because they are surprising, dynamic, and throw into relief specific colonial and post-colonial histories. In order for me to study the Pohnpeian language, I need to spend a period of time on-island. While an extremely limited number of Pohnpeian texts and language materials are available in the US, it is virtually impossible to study the language outside of the island. In five weeks I will not be able gain the level of fluency I ultimately wish to have, but I will be able to lay a solid foundation for my future studies.
Pohnpei is a more developed area of Micronesia than the RMI, so it will not be necessary for me to have a fluent command of the Pohnpeian language in order to travel there successfully, but by May I will have been studying the Pohnpeian language independently for three months. I have previous experience learning Marshallese in the field (with no formal instruction) and managing my affairs in a foreign Pacific city and culture. In general, I am curious about Pohnpeian history, language, and landscape; however, the specific questions I will address in Kolonia are (1) What loan words and places names are used today in daily life in Pohnpei? (2) How do oral and written cultures interact on-island? (3) How do Pohnpei’s landscapes and languages inform/transform each other?
METHODS & APPROACHES I have arranged to live for five weeks with a host family in Kolonia. With the help of a colleague, Mary Winters, who is the field director for the WorldTeach program in the FSM (based in Kolonia), a Pohnpeian family has offered me a place to stay, write, and study. I have found that traveling and being within a small community for a period of quiet and intense writing can be very productive for me as a writer, as I experienced while living in the RMI. While living in Kolonia, I will assist a Peace Corps volunteer who is currently working on literacy programs for Pohnpeian youth in the public library. I also plan to meet and interview writers from the area. I have been in correspondence with EmelihterKihleng, a Pohnepeian poet (currently based in New Zealand) and the author of ―My Urohs, one of the first books of Micronesian poetry written in English. As I am interested in working with the literary community of the Pacific throughout my career as an editor, making contacts in Pohnpei this summer will be a critical part of forging a personal and professional connection to the area. In this way, this project will not end with my MFA but will continue to inform and be a part of my career. My long-term goals include undertaking Fulbright research in Micronesia followed by work as a translator and editor for a press or foundation that publishes creative work from the Pacific, such as TinFish Press, University of Hawaii Press, or Victoria University Press.
RESEARCH PLAN Travel in the Pacific can be unpredictable, but I have extensive previous experience in Polynesia and living in Micronesia. While in the RMI, I was the only fluent English speaker in a small village of about 300 people on a remote, 6-mile coral atoll, so I have experience dealing with challenges specific to the Pacific region, such as culture shock, medical emergencies, unreliable transport and infrastructure, food shortages, and different attitudes towards women. Note: Flexibility and adaptability will be necessary for the safety and success of my travel. Flights in and out of Pohnpei are controlled by United Airlines, which flies to the island only three times a week, so the dates below may change slightly due to flight availability.
May 25 – Flight from LAX to Honolulu and then to Kolonia
May 26 – Arrive in Kolonia. Meet with primary on-island contact, Mary Winters, and host family
June 4 – Begin work at the Kolonia Public Library
June 30 – End work at the Kolonia Public Library
July 1 – Flight from Pohnpei to Honolulu to Seattle