Célestine Hitiura Vaite (born 1966) is a French Polynesian writer.

Early life

The daughter of a Tahitian mother and a French father, Vaite grew up in the commune of Faaa (Faa'a) on the island of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

. In her youth, Vaite grew up immersed in traditional storytelling. Having won a scholarship to a leading girls' school in

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...

(Pape'ete), she became interested in works by French authors like Balzac,

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

, Zola and

Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the Naturalism (literature), naturalist School of thought, sc ...

Career

Though she is a native French speaker, Vaite notably writes in English. She began to write out of homesickness while pregnant with her third child in Australia. Vaite has stated that writing in English gives her a wider audience as well as a greater creative freedom. Her first three novels—''Breadfruit'', ''Frangipani'', and ''Tiare''—follow Materena Mahi, a "professional cleaner" who lives in Faaa. The novels describe life in contemporary Tahiti from an inside perspective, through anecdotes and often with great humor. Vaite thus brings attention on a region of the world that Western literature has relegated to travel guides or often described in exotic terms. Her first two novels have been translated into French. ''L'arbre à pain'', the French translation of ''Breadfruit'', was warmly greeted in French Polynesia, where it was awarded the ''Prix littéraire des étudiants'' by the students of the

University of French Polynesia The University of French Polynesia () is a French university located in Puna'auia, French Polynesia. History Created by a decree of May 29, 1987, the university was originally called French Pacific University and was split between two sites ...

in 2004. ''L'arbre à pain'' is also reputed to be the most widely read book in French Polynesia. Frangipani, which has been published in 14 countries to date, was shortlisted for the 2005 NSW Premier's Literary Awards and longlisted for the 2006 Orange Prize. Vaite was approached by New Zealand musician

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songw ...

in 2018 to collaborate on his opera '' Ihitai 'Avei'a - Star Navigator'' about navigator and priest Tupaia who accompanied

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

on the '' Endeavour'''s maiden voyage, and she wrote monologues in Tahitian to accompany the songs, making ''Ihitai 'Avei'a'' the first opera to be performed in English and Tahitian.

Personal life

Vaite currently lives in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and has four children. She is the mother of former model, athlete, and bushfire survivor Turia Pitt. Vaite is amicably separated from her husband.

Bibliography

* ''Breadfruit'', 2000, Winner of the ''Prix littéraire des étudiants'' 2004 * ''Frangipani'', 2004 * ''Tiare'', 2006

References

Sources

* "Célestine Hitiura Vaite." 22 January 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060414014747/http://celestinevaite.com/ * Vaite, Célestine Hitiura. ''Frangipani.'' New York: Back Bay Books, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaite, Celestine Hitiura 1966 births Living people French Polynesian writers French Polynesian emigrants Immigrants to Australia People from Papeete French women novelists 21st-century French novelists 21st-century French women writers 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French women writers Tahitian women French Polynesian women writers