Poūkahangatus
Tayi Tibble’s Poūkahangatus is a vivid, often playful examination of her own family history, becoming an adult and the tensions that exist in her lived experience as a young Māori. Poūkahangatus is not only Tibble’s debut poetry volume, but is also an important piece of young, postcolonial contemporary literature. Yet most of all: it is moving and fun to read.
The time has come for Gen Z to have its say. In some of the poems, the vocabulary alone could be enough for advocates of the white, oldliterary canon to be overcome. Through the clever interplay of tradition and pop culture, Tayi Tibble manages to impart a sense of nearness and nostalgia. This is recognisable in the central text of the poetry volume, a recollection of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series wherein the conflict between pale white vampires and the werewolves of the Quileute reservation plays a central role – a metaphor that is self-explanatory but is nonetheless rich in meaning. In the same way, she repeatedly challenges the ‘not like other girls’ narrative by confidently claiming traits that are often stereotyped as such, and does so without referring to their negative connotations. Tayi Tibble is a ‘girl’s girl’ and this is refreshing to read.
Through constantly alternating between light humour and intentional directness, you can pretty much read the whole volume in one sitting. At the same time, it is worthwhile to take breaks here and there in order to really feel and experience what the author is conveying. Thematically, Tibble also takes seemingly contrasting elements and playfully brings them into a sense of harmony, and caricaturises the Western view of the world. Thereby, she establishes a multi-dimensional perspective of her Māori heritage, creating an antithesis to representations of Māori in Western narratives that are often over-politicised and one-dimensional. Furthermore, the effects of colonial violence are clearly identified and their entanglement with patriarchal oppression is a recurring theme. Alongside the pain, room is also made for comfort, for example through community solidarity or musing about Hawaiki, the spiritual place of origin in Polynesian mythology. At another point, Tibble establishes in a sarcastic tone: “I’m a modern city woman. I practise mindfulness. I’m trying to reach nirvana.” Overall, despite these regular shifts in tone the poems do not seem fragmented. Although they are characterised by conflict, they still collectively create a coherent depiction of real life. Thus, Tay Tibble’s poetry provides a unique compromise for all those who struggle in their daily life to choose between reading items of Franz Fanon’s works or settling in for a binge-watch of the Kardashians.
Again and again, book reviews and articles describe Tayi Tibble as courageous and bold. Yet, she doesn’t seem much more honest or experimental than other contemporary poets. Although Tayi Tibble is anything but unoriginal, it seems as though these attributions are a result of a lack of representation and in ‘Othering’ the perspective of a Māori woman. It is precisely these over-politicisations that Tibble refutes through her playful style and broad inclusion of topics. Clearly, there are not enough poetry collections like Poūkahangatus. There is no question that such voices exist, they just need to be published.