Albert Wendt
Author
and emeritus professor Albert Wendt says his Queen's Birthday honour is
not only for him, but the Samoan community, his family and his former
students.
Prof Wendt has today been publically made a Member of the Order of New Zealand in the annual honours list.
An investiture ceremony will take place later this year.
- READ MORE: Full honours list
- VIDEO: Watch the full interview
The novelist, poet, short story writer, playwright
and painter says he managed to keep the secret from his family,
including his three adult children living around the North Island.
"The really great thing about this is that the
Samoan community will be very happy with this. It's not just honouring
me, it's honouring the community, my large extended family, friends and
former students."
Prof Wendt was a professor of New Zealand and
Pacific literature at Auckland University from 1988 to 2006. He is
currently emeritus professor of English at the university.
He was also chair of the
Centre for Pacific Studies advisory committee and was involved in the
building of the Fale Pasifika Complex.
He sees
his teaching career as "one of the greatest phases of my life" and many
of his former students were now his good friends.
"That support and love for me has strengthened my desire to write."
Since
the 1970s Prof Wendt has been an influential figure in the development
of New Zealand and Pacific literature and is regarded internationally as
one of the world's leading indigenous novelists and academics.
Among his published work are seven novels, four collections of short stories and five collections of poetry.
He
was awarded the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in
Fiction last year after publishing two new collections of short stories
and poetry.
Prof Wendt is working on a novel he
started writing around 2004 when he was living in Hawaii. The book is
with a publisher who will send it back for him to review and change.
He says even after all this time as a writer he still has plenty of ideas for novels and stories to tell.
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