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Ruperake Petaia
Ruperake Petaia was born at the village of Leauvaa, Western Samoa. He attended Leauvaa and Malifa Primary Schools, Leiifiifi Intermediate School and Samoa College.
During 1970 he w...view moreRuperake Petaia was born at the village of Leauvaa, Western Samoa. He attended Leauvaa and Malifa Primary Schools, Leiifiifi Intermediate School and Samoa College.
During 1970 he worked at the Bank of Western Samoa. He left in 1971 and spend a year “idling” in American Samoa.In 1973 he commenced his career in the Public Service of Western Samoa as a records clerk in the Office of the Public Service Commission, and worked his way up through the ranks to hold the position of Deputy Secretary to the Public Service Commission in 1988. The following year he was appointed as Director for the Posts and Telecommunications Department. In 2002, he left the Public Service when he was called to be a servant of God. He graduated from Malua Theological College in 2005 and become an ordained priest for the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa(CCCS) in 2009. He is presently serving as a Parish Minister for the same church in Samoa.
His interest in writing is owed a lot to a few influential and very important people in his life. The art of story telling is an integral part of the everyday education of a Samoan childhood, ’taught’ mostly by their Grandparents. The passing of such stories to the younger generations by way of mouth ensures the roots of the Samoan Culture: its legends, language, traditions and religious beliefs, are firmly ‘stored in a Samoan child’s mind and life. Ruperake was no exception, for he and his eight brothers and three sisters, like most Samoans, had the great blessing of living with and in the ‘enchanting’ world of their Grandparents throughout their child and youthhood years. His ‘Grandmother’ who was a teacher ‘once upon a time’ was the greatest storyteller he has ever known.
Some of his ‘greatest tecahers’ were in the study of English Literature. Just one of them is the great Pacific writer Albert Wendt, whose own work and personal encouragement had a strong influence in Ruperake’s early interest in modern literature and the ‘fascinating world of Creative Writing’.
Ruperake has published several books of his poetry, which genre he claims to be his “first love” in the art of creative writing: “Blue Rain” was published in 1980 and “Patches of the Rainbow” was published in 1992, and “Rainbows and Dreams” in 2012. He writes mainly in English, but he has also written books in both English and Samoan. Petaia has also written and published collections of short stories and a short novel.
The Miracle is a short novel and is Ruperakes first attempt at writing a lengthier piece of prose. It was originally written in English and later translated into Samoan by the author himself. His current address is: P.O. Box. 3077, Apia, Samoa. E-mail: spetaia@yahoo.com, or his wife’s e-mail address: margraffiloga@yahoo.comview less
Books by Ruperake Petaia
Blue Rain The Miracle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPatches of the Rainbow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings