Tributes for poet, writer, teacher, and environmentalist, John Enright are being widely shared on Face Book.
John, who spent 26 years in American Samoa, died Tuesday in Rhode Island. He was 80.
In an interview with Victoria Kneubuhl, John said he first visited American Samoa in 1976, passing through on his way to Hong Kong for a magazine editorial job.
He had some friends who had moved to Pago Pago. A couple days turned into a couple of weeks and he almost lost the Hong Gong gig.
In 1981 he was back in San Francisco, Ronald Reagan became President and “I knew it was time to leave the county,”
he said.
He chose to move to American Samoa.
He spent six years at the American Samoa Community College, teaching English, Literature, and Folklore. He helped create the Samoa and Pacific Studies Program at the college and was its first Director.
He later joined the American Samoa Arts Council and established a Folk Arts Program using a grant he applied for from the National Endowment of the Arts.
John was appointed Chairman of the American Samoa Historical Commission and later became the State Historical Preservation Officer, a position he held for 13 years.
He was a founder and president of the environmental non profit organization, Le Vaomatua, and also a co-founder and president of the American Samoa Writers Association, “O le Siuleo o Samoa.”
John was also active in the Samoa Voyaging Society, “Aiga Tautai” and served as Treasurer.
In 1995 he received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
John and his wife Connie relocated to the mainland in 2007.
A prolific writer, his essays, short stories and poems have been published widely. One of his best known works for those in American Samoa is his Jungle Beat Mysteries Series with Samoan detective Apelu Soifua.
When asked if he drew on actual events that occurred while living in American Samoa for his books, he said” Yes. I would be hard-pressed to find a character, location, or event in any of my Samoa books that wasn’t pulled from reality or built upon the actual item. Why invent worlds when what already surrounds you is so rich?”
His collection of poems from “Samoa 14 Degrees South,” won the University of the South Pacific Press’s inaugural International Literature Competition.
John is survived by his son Liam and two grandchildren. Fare thee well John!
