Daren Kamali is a Pacific poet, writer, musician, and teacher. Daren Kamali has emerged on the Pacific writing scene as a Fijian writer, placing Fiji at the heart of much of his creative work. His most recent publication is entitled, Tales, Poems, and Songs from the Underwater World. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing at Manukau Institute of Technology in New Zealand. Kamali was the recipient of the 2012 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writers’ Residency, which he completed at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawai'i. He used the time to continue work on his second book, Squid Out of Water. In 2015 he was invited to present his poetry at the Singapore Writer's Festival. Kamali graduated with his Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland in New Zealand in 2016. From 2013 to 2017 Dafen was a Pacific Educator at Auckland Museum. He is currently employed as the Senior Pacific Curator for Auckland Libraries. His current projects include a collection of memoir poems called Vunimaqo: The Mango Bar Collections and a collection of Pan-Pacific myth poetry What Becomes of the Flying Squid?.
Background
Daren Kamali is a Wallis & Futuna native, who was born in 1975 in Suva, Fiji and has lived in New Zealand since 1992. Kamali is married to Carmel Sepuloni, a Labour Party MP for Kelston. He holds ten years of experience as a Creative Arts Youth Mentor, and has been engaged with the creative arts for over fifteen years. In 2004, he served as the New Zealand delegate for the Festival of Pacific Arts in Palau, and again in Solomon Islands in 2012. He is the co-founder of the South Auckland Poets Collective, in cooperation with Grace Taylor.
Music
Kamali’s debut album, Immigrant Story, and EP album, Keep it Real, share his personal experiences migrating to Aotearoa New Zealand from Fiji in 1992. Daren infuses his Fijian and Wallis and Futunan heritage with poetry and creative writing by including chants, songs, and oral traditions. Much of his work is inspired and influenced by his experiences and upbringing in Fiji and in Aotearoa/New Zealand. He has a tendency to work across genres and languages, creating a unique blend of beats and lyrics. As a native speaker of Fijian, Kamali works with metaphors, imagery, and rhythm of the Fijian, English, and Māori languages.
Writer’s Residency
During his stay with the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Kamali was given the opportunity to research and write his new book Squid Out of Water as well as conduct youth workshops, give public performances, and collaborate with UH Mānoa’s growing network of Pacific writers. Fulbright New Zealand was established in 1948 to promote mutual understanding through educational and cultural exchanges between New Zealand and the United States of America. The Fulbright program offers a range of prestigious awards for New Zealand and American graduate students, academics, artists and professionals to study, research and teach in each other’s countries. The program is mainly funded by the US and New Zealand governments with additional funding from award sponsors, private philanthropists and alumni donors. In 2014, he participated in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.
Six Pack Sound
Daren Kamali features in Six Pack Sound #05, a collection of recordings by poets working in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific region, released on 22 May 2017
