Devika Ponnambalam
In 2018, I received a research and development grant from Creative Scotland to travel to Tahiti to undertake field research for my now published book, I Am Not Your Eve (Bluemoose, 24 March 2022).
The genesis of the idea came to me in 2003 when I was undertaking an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. I remembered an article about the painter Paul Gauguin and his first journey to Tahiti (1891–93), accompanied by an image of his masterpiece, The Spirit of the Dead Keeps Watch. In it, his muse and child-bride, Teha’amana, lies naked on their bed, looking out towards the viewer. Gauguin died of syphilis in 1903 and her story has never been told. It is a story that is woven around the origin myths of French Polynesia and the imagined diary entries of Gauguin’s European daughter, who was the same age as her father’s new ‘wife’.
After the UEA, I undertook years of research at The British Library in London, but it was only when I resettled in Edinburgh that everything came together. My grant application was successful and my dream of going to Tahiti became a reality: the turning point for my unfinished book. I finally understood first-hand, the landscape, textures, and geography of an island that had been intangible to me, 9000 miles away, but further in my mind. I also found no trace in modern-day Tahiti of Teha’amana’s legacy: who she had been, no record of her relationship with Gauguin. It was time to make some difficult decisions and tell my version of the truth.
Creative Scotland saw the potential of my idea and their backing has been instrumental in getting this story out into the world. I completed work on the manuscript at the end of 2019 and my agent sent it out to publishers just before lockdown in 2020. It was snapped up by award-winning indie publisher Bluemoose Books who made it their lead title for this year.
I’ve had many wonderful responses from readers so far, and a brilliant article on the book appeared in The List magazine’s June print issue, which was reviewed by Edinburgh-based author Lucy Ribchester. I’ll be speaking at Bradford Literature Festival on 3rd July with art historian and author Alice Procter and Natasha Howes, Senior Curator of the Manchester Art Gallery.
· The List June issue review: https://issuu.com/thelistltd/docs/list_762_june/s/15959881
· Bradford Literature Festival 3/7/2022: https://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/event/i-am-not-your-eve/
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