Albert Wendt

Albert Tuaopepe Wendt is a Samoan poet and writer, born in 1939, who lives in New Zealand and is regarded as one of the most influential writers in Oceania, recognized for his pivotal role in the formation of Pacific literature in English. His notable works include the 1973 novel Sons for the Return Home, later adapted into a feature film, and the 1979 novel Leaves of the Banyan Tree, and alongside his writing he taught at universities in Samoa, Fiji, Hawaii and New Zealand, serving as professor of New Zealand literature at the University of Auckland from 1988 to 2008.