Answers: For Albert Wendt (on his Birthday)
1. It is an appropriate title because it refers to Wendt's birthday, which is a celebration of one's life, and the poem is also a celebration of his talent, and reflects the importance of his works. The title makes it clear that the poem is a tribute to Wendt, and identifies whom the poem refers to. As the poem itself never mentions Wendt's name, the title is very important.
2. Three of the following are required:
3. The metaphor compares the narratives of Wendt's writings and poems with a tattooing needle. A tattooing needle is able to pierce the thickest skin and may sometimes be painful, and this refers to the depth seen in Wendt's writing (liens 1-5), whcih goes beyond the mere surface and challenges our understanding> The ink of the tattoo pen is linked to the effect of Wendt's words on his readers, as both the tattoo ink and Wendt's words become a permanent part of the individual and his / her geneaology. Jsut as tattoos in Polynesian cultures represent one's genealogy, so too do Wendt's writings, as they relate directly to Polynesian culture and history. While the tattoo artist creates his genealogies on naked bodies, Wendt creates his genealogies on the liens of paper, however, ultimately just as the tattoo becomes a permanent part of the individual, so too will Wendt's words become deeply ingrained in the individual's makeup.
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2. Three of the following are required:
- Wendt is able to write with great depth, and endows his works with deeper meaning that is possibly not understood on a first reading. This quality is presented in the poem using symbolism related to fishing, eg 'coral reef', 'net', 'salty' (lines 1-5);
- Wendt is a distinctly Pacific poet. Throughout the poem, there were several repeated references to images that are well-known to be Pacific. This includes 'coral reefs' (line 2), 'hurricanes' (line 7), 'frangipani' (line 14);
- Wendt stirs things up and is completely honest. He tells people through his poetry things that they 'prefer to not hear' (line 9) and he 'shakes the tree' (line 13);
- Wendt has the ability to find beauty in all of nature, even those facets not normally equated with beauty. This quality is presented through giving three examples of facets of nature - eyes of hurricanes, thunder, lightning - and stating how Wendt interprets them. Eg, he finds rainbows (nuanua) in hurricanes, and he alone celebrates thunder and relishes lightning;
- Wendt has a talent for using words tot heir best effect. This quality is presented using symbolism of nature, relating frangipani flowers to words. Wendt's work appears effortless because just as the flowers fall (ie words come into his head), he is able to string them together (ie create a poem / work with seemingly little effort).
3. The metaphor compares the narratives of Wendt's writings and poems with a tattooing needle. A tattooing needle is able to pierce the thickest skin and may sometimes be painful, and this refers to the depth seen in Wendt's writing (liens 1-5), whcih goes beyond the mere surface and challenges our understanding> The ink of the tattoo pen is linked to the effect of Wendt's words on his readers, as both the tattoo ink and Wendt's words become a permanent part of the individual and his / her geneaology. Jsut as tattoos in Polynesian cultures represent one's genealogy, so too do Wendt's writings, as they relate directly to Polynesian culture and history. While the tattoo artist creates his genealogies on naked bodies, Wendt creates his genealogies on the liens of paper, however, ultimately just as the tattoo becomes a permanent part of the individual, so too will Wendt's words become deeply ingrained in the individual's makeup.
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