Claiming one’s space
, the second book from Auckland critic and editor Lana Lopesi, following 2018’s , is a collection of short essays that examine the overlap between being Sāmoan and a woman within the New Zealand immigrant diaspora. In it, Lopesi touches on a range of topics, including ancestral ideas of womanhood, indigenous presence on the internet, cultural appropriation through fashion, and doesn’t rely on a single stated idea to guide each essay. Instead, it reads as Lopesi’s attempt to navigate the difficulties that come with sitting in these roles.
