Towards an electronic fāgogo: Lani Wendt Young’s Telesā series and social media

ABSTRACT

This article argues that Samoan author Lani Wendt Young’s Telesā series presents a complex way of thinking about the possible continuity between indigenous Samoan traditional forms and contemporary literatures. Her four-book fantasy romance series and its corresponding paratextual writings adapt and transform Samoan storytelling traditions and myths, as they operate within a popular idiom and mass medium. Young uses social media platforms to establish an interactive connection between storyteller and audience analogous to that of the Samoan live oral storytelling tradition of fāgogo, characterized by audience response that is considered an integral aspect of the performance. Young’s works shift the sense of literature in the Pacific, highlighting its function as a means of performing versions of communal rituals and taking steps towards revising the Eurocentric literary model that privileges the singular author, suggesting a Pacific vision for the way stories are produced and exchanged.

KEYWORDS:

• Pacific literature
• transmedial approaches
• indigenous traditions
• electronic literature
• social media
• fāgogo

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Among “traditional presses” there is significant diversity and it should be noted that many books by Pacific authors have not been published by the global “big five” book publishers (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, MacMillan, Simon & Shuster, and Hachette). Instead, many Pacific writers have been published by academic presses (e.g. Auckland University Press [AUP], University of Hawaiʻi Press, University of the South Pacific [USP] Press, Victoria University Press [VUP]) or smaller local presses that have a commitment to indigenous works (e.g. Huia, Kamehameha, Au Vent des Îles). These presses have different constraints, but nonetheless favour particular types of expressions.

2. The series only lasted for three iterations and they are now available to read for free on wattpad.com.

3. Amazon authors can make a considerable amount of money from this form of publishing, as they earn 70 percent royalties on all books over $2.99 USD, which is much more than they would receive from traditional publishers. However, Amazon’s gains come from drawing customers to its site and providing them with more content options for their Amazon devices.

4. The morals of Telesā are, broadly speaking, about protecting the environment, protecting victims of domestic violence, cultivating cultural identity, celebrating diversity and supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights.

5. Young is a practising Mormon (though an outspoken critic of certain policies of the LDS Church [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]), but her teenage characters are more ambiguous in their association with religion. They often attend “church” with their families, but it is never made clear what church or what it means to them.

6. I have discovered no evidence that any of Young’s readers have used the #AngryGirl hashtag on social media platforms.

7. On June 4, 2018, Young announced on her blog that she will release two new Telesā books: Ocean’s Kiss and Embrace of Earth.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Steven Gin

Steven Gin is a postdoctoral teaching fellow in the English Department at Tulane University. He researches and teaches contemporary Pacific Island and other postcolonial literatures and media studies.