Dreadlocks - Creativity and climate change in the Pacific

This special edition of the literary journal Dreadlocks incorporates proceedings from the Oceans, Islands and Skies - Oceanic Conference on Creativity and Climate Change – The Role of Writers, Artists and the Media in Environmental Challenges in the Pacific.  The conference highlighted the role of writers, filmmakers, artists, photographers and the media in environmental challenges in the Pacific. It was held from 13-17 September 2010 at the Laucala Campus of the University of the South Pacific in Suva.  

The proceedings from the conference reflect on the rationale that Oceania has always had at its core traditions creative expression that empowered us in our relationship with the environment. The conference papers, presentations, community events and the associated artists and writers’ festival that are included in the proceedings provide an alternative culture of determination of responses to issues like climate change.

This was in line with local and global trends in incorporating traditional sustainable values on the environment, in modern awareness and activism on the subject.  The conference proceedings included in this publication exemplifies the synergy of creative spirits with academic papers and presentations from across the humanities, social sciences and scientific and environmental knowledge to better serve the Pacific as face coming climate challenges.

It is only timely that the journal takes new editorial shape. This will do justice to contributors as a peer-reviewed journal that is aiming for a high placement within premier academic ranking platforms internationally. The wider spread of its editorial board will better reflect the diversity of disciplines that it will publish under the generics of the humanities

Dreadlocks, in its new form and hopefully under the same name, will also provide the requisite returns to contributors as a peer-reviewed journal, that aims for top billing among the main international ranking systems.

Dreadlocks was first published in 1997 and lapsed publication in 1999.  Since its revival in 2006 it has gained prominence, regionally and in recent years internationally, as the journal to publish in, especially on Oceania. What started out as a literary journal has gained currency in more recent volumes as a forum for more multidisciplinary debates.

Debates that deals with the humanities and social sciences, particularly in the area of cultural concerns and constructs. These take on a multitude of forms. Contributions, debates and creative expression from various disciplines such as education, anthropology, cultural studies and other associated areas of expression and scholarship will be welcomed.

The changes to Dreadlocks from its next volume will cement these organic developments.  While we look forward to such changes and the challenges it brings, there is this edition to bring out. As such a short summary of what is on offer becomes necessary.

Once again the eclectic collection in this volume covers a range of disciplines and the submissions come in myriad forms from short stories to poems to film and radio scripts to various academic papers. Forming the far bookend is a series of important reviews and review essays. 

Many of those published are to be found in earlier editions of the journal, while many others, as has been the tradition with Dreadlocks, find themselves in print for the first time. If name dropping is an art form and part of the world of exchanging words, then this edition had its fair share to be highlighted.

However, in the Oceanic tradition, deeds carry far more mana than words. Therefore, there is grave justification (and an excuse for erasure of editorial pontificating on contents!) so it is left to the reader to go through the works present and do their own instructional preview of reading in this edition of Dreadlocks. These core submissions are greatly complemented by the inclusion of the proceedings of OIS in this special edition.

This edition of Dreadlocks is made possible by a funding grant from Auckland University of Technology’School of Communication Studies, facilitated by associate editor Professor David Robie, director of AUT's Pacific Media Centre. Supplementary funding and editorial support is being provided by the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE) at the University of the South Pacific. The editorial secretariat for the revamped Dreadlocks will be moved to the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education under Research and Graduate Affairs. It is envisaged that the wider scope and better funding of the journal will enable it to grow further and take its rightful place as a top-ranked journal.

Dreadlocks, in its new multidisciplinary avatar, will again solicit the support of its many contributors over the past years in the editions to follow.

Dr Mohit Prasad-Editor
School of Language, Arts and Media
Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE)
University of the South Pacific
Suva, Fiji

December 2011

Book review by Pat Craddock

Book review by Seona Smiles

Pacific Writing Forum
 

NZ orders to Little Island Press

Contributors include:
Susan Hawthorne
Cathie Koa Dunsford
Karrin Meissenburg
Keron Niles
Elizabeth M. DeLoughrey
Otto Heim
Nilesh Bilimoria
Manoranjan Mohanty
Shaiza Janif
Dr Ian Gaskell
Cresantia Frances Koya
Professor David Robie
Pio Manoa
Briar Woods
Dan Taulapapa McMullin
Shaiza Janif
Professor Rajesh Chandra
Hon Peter Eafeare, PNG High Commissioner to Fiji
Dr Mohit Prasad