Papalii Sia Figiel (born 1966) is a Samoan

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Early life

Sia Figiel was born in Matautu Tai,

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

to a Samoan mother and a Polish-American father. She grew up amidst traditional Samoan singing and poetry, which heavily influenced her writing. Figiel's greatest influence and inspiration in her career is the Samoan novelist and poet, Albert Wendt. Her formal schooling was conducted in

and New Zealand where she also began a Bachelor of Arts, which was later completed at Whitworth College in the United States. She travelled in Europe and completed writers' residencies at the University of the South Pacific,

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

, and the University of Technology, Sydney.

Career

Sia Figiel's poetry won the Polynesian Literary Competition in 1994 and her novel ''Where We Once Belonged'' won the 1997 Best First Book award in the South East Asia/South Pacific Region of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Her works have been translated into French, German, Catalan, Danish, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Portuguese. In 2000, Figiel performed her Oceanic poetry at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

's twenty-fifth annual Pacific Island Studies conference. The performances of Figiel and Teresia Teaiwa were recorded at this conference and released in a joint production with Hawai'i Dub Machine records and 'Elepaio Press. The album is titled Terenesia. Sia Figiel has also been a contributor to The Contemporary Pacific journal on multiple occasions, including publications in 1998 and 2010. Selected poetry by Figiel was included in ''UPU,'' a compilation of Pacific Island writers’ work which was first presented at the Silo Theatre as part of the Auckland Arts Festival in March 2020. ''UPU'' was remounted as part of the Kia Mau Festival in Wellington in June 2021.

Personal life

Sia Figiel's life has been affected by

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

in various ways. Members of her family have had

, and related complications caused the death of both Figiel's mother and father. In 2003 Figiel herself was diagnosed with Type two diabetes. Figiel initially kept her diagnosis secret as she felt it to be a sign of weakness and did not want her condition to shape her as a writer and a public figure. The deaths of family members and friends from complications from diabetes eventually impelled her to speak up about the disease. Fiegel also suffered from depression and bipolar disorder. In 2012, in parallel with a move to the United States, Figiel began to address her diabetes both publicly and personally, making appearances at various conferences and university campuses. Subsequently she served as an advocate in the Pacific region by sharing her personal experiences to help with efforts to address the causes of diabetes. Figiel has acted as a role model for good health by targeting both those with diabetes and those who are working to prevent it. In 2014, her condition had improved sufficiently to enable her to complete the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. Figiel's story was featured on CNN where she discussed her struggle with food and explained how because she is from American Samoa where food is such a major part of the culture, she had difficulty managing her diabetes. After moving to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, USA she lost 100 pounds. Her diabetes resulted in major dental complications and many occasions of very low blood sugar. Her young son was able to help her, as he knew how to inject her with insulin. According to Figiel, he "...saved her life continuously during this time." On 28 May 2024, she was charged with murdering Samoan academic and poet Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard.

Novels and poetry

Where We Once Belonged

Sia Figiel's ''Where We Once Belonged'' is a Samoan novel set in the fictitious village of Malaefou. It is focused around the titular character, Alofa, a name that literally means love in the

Samoan language Samoan ( or , ) is a Polynesian languages, Polynesian language spoken by Samoans of the Samoan Islands. Administratively, the islands are split between the sovereign country of Samoa and the Unincorporated territories of the United States, Unit ...

, and her various encounters with violence and sex. In telling this story, Figiel writes with complex prose that are highly poetic and dream-like. Her writing style is emblematic of ''Su'ife-filoi'', a Samoan form of story telling centred around the "quilt-like weaving of words". ''Where We Once Belonged'' marks the first instance of a novel published in the United States that is written by a Samoan female. The novel was adapted into a play by Dave Armstrong, a 2008 production of the play winning the Chapman Tripp theatre award for best new New Zealand play.

They Who Do Not Grieve

In her second novel, ''They Who Do Not Grieve'', published in 2003 by Kaya Press, Figiel incorporates her poetic talents through the voices of three generations of women who descend from Samoa and New Zealand. Writing in a highly poetic medium, ''They Who Do Not Grieve'' tells the story of two twin sisters who introduce tattooing to

. Through this themes of

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

femininity Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

, and

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

are addressed.

The Girl in the Moon Circle

''The Girl in the Moon Circle'' is a collection of poetic works published in 1996 by the Institute of Pacific Studies. It depicts life in Samoan society from the point of view of a ten-year-old girl named Samoana. This semi-autobiographical collection illustrates the simplistic aspects of Samoan culture, along with the commonplace experiences of a young ten-year-old girl, such as school, friends, family, church and boy crushes.

To a Young Artist in Contemplation

Figiel's ''To a Young Artist in Contemplation'' is a collection of poetry and prose published in 1998 by the Institute of Pacific Studies.

Freelove - A novel

In her novel ''Freelove'', the 17 year old protagonist, Inosia Alofafua Afatasi from the fictional Western Samoan village of Nu'uolemanusa is sent by her mother on an errand to the city of Apia. A chance encounter there with her spiritual brother Loage Viliamu, the son of the pastor in her village and her school teacher, leads her into an unexpected and forbidden relationship. The tale comments on social and communal changes, and was published in 2017 on Kindle and in print in 2018 by Little Island Press.

List of works

;Novels * ''Where We Once Belonged'' (New Zealand: Pasifika, 1996) Review
/small> * ''They Who do not Grieve'' (1999) ; Kaya Press, 2003, ;Poetry & Stories * ''The Girl in the Moon Circle'' (1996) * ''To a Young Artist in Contemplation'', Pacific Writing Forum, USP, 1998,
/small> ;Anthologies * *

References

Relevant literature

* Ramsay, Raylene. 2018. "Indigenous Women Writers in the Pacific: Déwé Gorodé, Sia Figiel, Patricia Grace." ''Postcolonial Text'' 7.1:1-18. (2012).