Fale Aitu / Spirit House

Speaking from Samoa, Christchurch, Gaza, and New York - Avia's fearless voice combines mythic with the everyday stories, never shying away from moments of pain nor strange wonder.Tusiata Avia is an acclaimed poet and performer of her own work. Her stage show, also titled, Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, premiered in 2002 and has since been shown throughout New Zealand and internationally. Her second collection of poetry, Bloodclot, was published in 2009. In 2005 she held the Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer's Residency at the University of Hawai'i and in 2010 she held the Ursula Bethall Writer's Residency at Canterbury University. Her work has been anthologised and published in numerous books and journals in New Zealand and overseas. In 2013 she was awarded the Janet Frame Literary Trust award.