Rexford Tom Orotaloa (born 1956) is a

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

writer best known for the novel ''Two Times Resurrection'' and the story collection ''Suremada: Faces from a Solomon Island Village''. His work often focuses on the conflict between modern and traditional culture.

Early life

Orotaloa was born in 1956 and raised in a village on the island of

Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...

in the Solomon Islands. He was raised by his grandfather, who taught him traditional tribal chants and songs. He was educated at the King George VI School in the Solomons capital city of

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

Career

Orotaloa has published two books, the novel ''Two Times Resurrection'' (1989) and the story collection ''Suremada: Faces from a Solomon Island Village'' (1985). His writing blends the European-style literary short story with the traditional oral folk tales of his islands, and often uses creolized English. He has also published poetry. Orotaloa also worked as a teacher and secretary to the local court in Malaita.

Critical reception

''Two Times Resurrection'' is one of the few novels to emerge from the Solomon Islands literary community (along with John Saunana's ''The Alternative''), which has generally produced short stories. Robert Viking O'Brien noted its "elegiac tone" and said that Orotaloa "depicts the capitalist transformation of the Solomon Islands and an individual's struggle to survive that transformation without losing what he values in traditional Melanesian society." In the journal ''

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' (''WLT'') is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The magazine's stated goal is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book ...

'', Stephen Oxenham wrote that the novel's "fusion of oral and literary convention gives it a peculiar power and charm". He called Orotaloa "a writer of unusual and highly individual perception," whose work "is unlikely to have any counterpart in modern Pacific writing." ''The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia'' said that Orotaloa's "episodic semi-autobiography and loosely connected stories can be ungainly at times, but are always lively." Samoan poet and writer

Albert Wendt Albert Tuaopepe Wendt (born 27 October 1939) is a Samoan poet and writer who lives in New Zealand. He is one of the most influential writers in Oceania. His notable works include ''Sons for the Return Home'', published in 1973 (adapted into a ...

, in ''Nuanua: Pacific Writing in English Since 1980'', praised Orotaloa's "complex storytelling style" and use of traditional mythology and oral literary techniques.

References

External links

Robert Viking O'Brien's article on ''Two Times Resurrection''
from ''Ariel: A Review of International English Literature'' 1956 births Solomon Islands novelists Living people Solomon Islands short story writers {{Solomons-bio-stub