Selina Tusitala Marsh: sum of many parts

When discussing the possibilities that poetry offered her, Selina Tusitala Marsh once said the artform “gave me a voice when I felt I didn’t have one”.

Now her voice will be heard across more than 50 nations and among more than 2.7 billion people.

The notable New Zealand poet and University of Auckland professor of English and drama has been named the inaugural Commonwealth Poet Laureate.

The appointment, the first in the 75 year history of the Commonwealth of Nations, will run until the end of May 2027. It will involve Selina crafting original poems for flagship Commonwealth events, including Commonwealth Day, the Commonwealth People’s Forum, and ministerial and heads of government meetings.

She will also advise on the creative planning for the Commonwealth Foundation – the principal agency for Commonwealth culture – and will appear in person at the Commonwealth People’s Forum and Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda in 2026.

Selina, who is of Sāmoan, Tuvaluan, English, Scottish and French heritage, says she is deeply honoured to accept the the Commonwealth Poet Laureate role, which will be a huge undertaking.

“I have written extensively about the many hats we wear as Pacific people and that applies to myself,” says Selina.

“I am the sum of many parts, which includes being an academic and a poet. I intend to navigate this exciting new role with the same passion and energy that I bring to the other areas of my life.”

Selina is a former New Zealand Poet Laureate (2017 to 2019) and is an award-winning writer, known for her three collections of poetry and, most recently, her best-selling children’s graphic memoir series Mophead.

In 2019, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. In 2024 she was the first female Pacific writer to be awarded the prestigious Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship.

Selina has already played memorable roles in Commonwealth events. Last year, she co-hosted the People’s Forum at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sāmoa, and in 2016 she recited a poem, Unity, which she wrote for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II and other dignitaries.

Selina was the first Pacific person to earn a PhD in English from the University, where she lectures in Pacific poetry and creative writing. She has also written poems to mark significant events on campus, such as B201 – the poem she wrote for and delivered at the opening of the renewed Faculty of Arts and Education building on Symonds Street in 2023.

She is also the co-director, of the University’s Centre for Arts and Social Transformation (CAST), which promotes arts-led approaches to justice, health and well-being. Alongside other staff members from CAST, including co-director Professor Peter O’Connor, Selina travelled to Hawai’i last year offering creative support to children affected by devastating fires on Maui.

Selina says the honour of being the inaugural Commonwealth Poet Laureate, means she can live up to the responsibility of her name, Tusitala (teller of tales), with the intention to create even greater visibility for Pacific peoples.

No stranger to leveraging her platform to advocate for her people and the arts, Selina led prime ministers and heads of state in a singalong at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting last year in Sāmoa. Her poem chorused a wish list of urgent issues facing Commonwealth nations, including climate and health justice, using a well-known Christmas tune.

The University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific, Professor Jemaima Tiatia-Siau, says she is thrilled with Selina’s Commonwealth appointment.

“Selina’s appointment is an acknowledgement of the natural and rich resources abundant in the Pacific, and our ability to tell and share stories in a unique and compelling way, while keeping our connections strong,” says Jemaima.

“Our Tusitala has led from the front strongly over the past decades and we are so proud that she has been given a well-deserved platform representing all of us in the best possible way.”

– Julianne Evans and Kim Meredith