Emelihter Kihleng
{{short description|Micronesian poet}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Emelihter S. Kihleng
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Guam
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| occupation = Poet, academic
| language = Pohnpeian, English
| alma_mater = University Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, B.A., M.A.,
Victoria University of Wellington, PhD
| genre = Postcolonialism, poetry, ethnography
| movement =
| notableworks = My Urohs
| awards =
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}}
Emelihter Kihleng is a Micronesian (and more specifically Pohnpeian) poet. She is the first ever Micronesian to publish a collection of poetry in the English language,[http://www.doi.gov/oia/press/2008/05122008b.html "Micronesian Poet Publishes Collection of Poems"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229151437/http://www.doi.gov/oia/press/2008/05122008b.html |date=2012-02-29 }}, Office of Insular Affairs, May 12, 2008 and is one of few published Micronesian poets.
Biography
Born in Guam, she obtained a master's degree in creative writing at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2003, and subsequently taught English as a second language at the College of Micronesia in Pohnpei. She later received a PhD in Pacific studies from the Victoria University of Wellington in 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.pacificleaders.com/emelihter-kihleng-ph-d/|title=EMELIHTER KIHLENG, PH.D}} Her PhD Thesis was titled "Menginpehn Lien Pohnpei: a poetic ethnography of urohs (Pohnpeian skirts)", and was supervised by Teresia Teaiwa and Brian Diettrich.{{cite thesis |last=Kihleng |first=Emelihter |year=2015 |type=Doctoral thesis |title=Menginpehn lien Pohnpei: A poetic ethnography of urohs (Pohnpeian skirts) |publisher=Open Access Repository Victoria University of Wellington, Victoria University of Wellington |doi=10.26686/wgtn.17011892 |url=https://openaccess.wgtn.ac.nz/articles/thesis/Menginpehn_lien_Pohnpei_A_poetic_ethnography_of_urohs_Pohnpeian_skirts_/17011892/1|doi-access=free }}
In May 2008, she published her first collection of poems, My Urohs.Emelihter Kihleng, My Urohs, 2008, Kahuaomanoa Press (Hawaiʻi), {{ISBN|0-9793788-3-4}} Samoan writer Albert Wendt described her poetry as "refreshingly innovative and compelling, a new way of seeing ourselves in our islands, an important and influential addition to our literature" – meaning Pacific Islander literature.[http://www.honors.hawaii.edu/alumni/news.html "Alumni news"]{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa I-Kiribati poet Teresia Teaiwa described it as "ethnographic poetry", "lush with the languages and imagery of Pohnpei and Micronesia", "an exciting new contribution to Pacific literature". Samoan writer Sia Figiel described her poetry as "disturbing and haunting, illuminating and tender", "woven from the violent threads of postcolonialism, laced with patches of Island humour", "a powerful addition to Pacific Literature". American poet Mark Nowak also praised her work.My Urohs, back cover
Kihleng explained that the urohs is "the quintessential dress of a Pohnpeian woman as a symbol of Pohnpeian women and Pohnpeian culture. I chose to title the collection My Urohs [...] because [...] the essence of the collection as a whole [is] colorful, tragic, beautiful, colonized and indigenous all at the same time".
In February 2009, Kihleng and University of Guam professor of English Dr. Evelyn Flores announced their intention to publish the first ever anthology of Micronesian literature, calling for contributions from writers from Guam, Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.[http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=89828 "Planned Micronesian anthology calls for submissions"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214005417/http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=89828 |date=2012-02-14 }}, Saipan Tribune, April 30, 2009 Kihleng noted that, while Polynesia and Melanesia had made a notable impact on Pacific literature, Micronesia still appeared to be "invisible".[http://guam.mvarietynews.com/index.php?view=article&id=4591%3Aseeking-micronesian-literary-writers&option=com_content&Itemid=2 "Seeking Micronesian literary writers"], Marianas Variety, February 18, 2009
According to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, "[m]uch of her work is about Pohnpeian identity and diaspora".[http://www2.hawaii.edu/~gharada/litevents.html "Local Literary Events Fall 2008"], University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The Office of Insular Affairs, a branch of the United States government's Department of the Interior, describes her as "one of the most gifted young writers in the Pacific".
As of 2008, Kihleng was working in Guam, and, according to the United States government, "working at the University of Guam's Violence Against Women Prevention Program".
In 2023, Kihleng was appointed Curator Pacific Cultures at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.{{Cite web |title=Pacific Cultures team {{!}} Te Papa |url=https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/learn/research/pacific-cultures-research/pacific-cultures-team |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=tepapa.govt.nz}}
Published works
- My Urohs (poetry collection), Kahuaomanoa, 2008, ISBN 978-0979378836.{{Cite web |title=My Urohs |url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/3914455-my-urohs |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=Goodreads |language=en}}
= Edited =
- with Evelyn Flores: Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia, University of Hawai'i Press, 2019, ISBN 9780824875411.
References
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:People from Pohnpei State
Category:University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni
Category:Victoria University of Wellington alumni
Category:Federated States of Micronesia women poets
Category:American people of Federated States of Micronesia descent
Category:Federated States of Micronesia people of American descent