Kia ora

He uri tēnei o Te Āti Awa, o Taranaki.

I am a scholar, poet and irredentist who writes and teaches at the intersections of literary studies, Indigenous studies and Pacific studies.

Since 2022 I have been a full professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of English language & literatures and the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies. Before arriving on Musqueam territory, I previously taught at universities in Australia, Hawai’i and New Zealand. My undergraduate and masters education was at the University of Auckland and my PhD is from Cornell University.

My publications include Once Were Pacific: Māori Connections to Oceania (2012), 250 Ways To Start an Essay about Captain Cook (2020) and a (forthcoming) book of poetry Always Italicise: how to write while colonised (2022). My current research project, ‘Writing the new world: Indigenous texts 1900-1975,’ focusses on writing published in English and in Indigenous languages by Indigenous people from New Zealand, Australia, Hawai’i and Fiji.

This website provides an opportunity for people to connect with me and my work.