Daren Kamali

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daren (DK) Kamali is a Pacific poet, writer, musician, and teacher and museum curator. He emerged on the Pacific writing scene as a Fijian writer, placing Fiji at the heart of much of his creative work.

Education[]

Kamali completed his Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing at Manukau Institute of Technology in New Zealand in 2014 [1] [2] Kamali graduated with a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland in New Zealand in 2016.

Career[]

In 2004, he served as the New Zealand delegate for the Festival of Pacific Arts in Palau, and again in Solomon Islands in 2012. In 2008, together with Grace Taylor and Ramon Narayan he co-founded the South Auckland Poets Collective.[3]

Kamali was the recipient of the 2012 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writers’ Residency, which he completed at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawai'i.[4][5] He used the time to continue work on his second book, Squid Out of Water (Ala Press 2014). [6] In 2014, he participated in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.[7]

In 2015 he was invited to present his poetry at the Singapore Writer's Festival.[8] From 2013 to 2017 Daren was a Pacific Educator at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. He is currently employed as the Senior Pacific Curator for Auckland Libraries.

Recent projects include a collection of memoir poems called Vunimaqo: The Mango Bar Collections and a collection of Pan-Pacific myth poetry What Becomes of the Flying Squid?

Poetry by Kamali was included in UPU, a curation of Pacific Island writers’ work which was first presented at the Silo Theatre as part of the Auckland Arts Festival in March 2020.[9] UPU was remounted as part of the Kia Mau Festival in Wellington in June 2021.[10]

Personal life[]

Kamali is a Wallis and Futuna native, who was born in 1975 in Suva, Fiji and has lived in New Zealand since 1992. He is married to Carmel Sepuloni, Labour Party MP for Kelston.[11]

Music[]

Kamali’s debut album, Immigrant Story (2000), and EP album, Keep it Real (2005), share his personal experiences migrating to Aotearoa New Zealand from Fiji in 1992. Daren infuses his Fijian and Wallis and Futunan heritage with poetry and creative writing by including chants, songs, and oral traditions. Much of his work is inspired and influenced by his experiences and upbringing in Fiji and in Aotearoa New Zealand. He has a tendency to work across genres and languages, creating a unique blend of beats and lyrics. As a native speaker of Fijian, Kamali works with metaphors, imagery, and rhythm of the Fijian, English, and Māori languages.

Six Pack Sound[]

Daren Kamali features in Six Pack Sound #05, a collection of recordings by poets working in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific region, released on 22 May 2017 [12]

Selected Works[]

  • Tales, Poems, and Songs from the Underwater World (2011)[13]
  • Squid Out of Water ; the evolution, Ala Press (2014)[6]
  • Vunimaqo and Me: Mango Tree Collections (2021)[14]

References[]

  1. ^ "Kamali,Daren". Manukau Institute of Technology. June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Daren Kamali". Tautai Guiding Pacific Artists. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Daren Kamali". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Fijian Poet Daren Kamali awarded 2012 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer's Residency". 22 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Daren Kamali - Fulbright Scholar Program". www.cies.org.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Kamali, Daren (2014). Squid out of water : the evolution. Honolulu, Hawai'i. ISBN 978-1-4975-5976-9. OCLC 898043672.
  7. ^ "2014 Resident Participants | The International Writing Program". iwp.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Singapore Writers Festival - British Council Singapore". www.britishcouncil.sg.
  9. ^ "UPU". Silo Theatre. March 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  10. ^ "UPU". Kai Mau Festival. June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  11. ^ Mitchell, Stephanie (18 November 2018). "Labour party MP gets married in Fiji and enlists another MP as bridesmaid". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Six Pack Sound - Features - NZEPC". www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz.
  13. ^ "» Tales, Poems and Songs from the Underwater World Anahera Press". Anahera.co.nz. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  14. ^ Kamali, Daren (2021). Vunimaqo and me: mango tree collections. [Auckland]. ISBN 978-0-473-55605-1. OCLC 1249444738.
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