Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Author-poet Sia Figiel unearths the untold Samoan history of Treasure Island’s famous author Robert Louis Stevenson on “Stories from the Pacific” broadcast daily from Australia’s ABC.

While Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson was living in Samoa in the late 1880s and early 1890s, he became known as “Tusitala”, or teller of tales.

But surrounding his household were, in fact, many tusitala. Their stories have never been heard, until now. In her latest play, O Tusitala – Tellers of Tales, prolific Samoan writer Sia Figiel brings to life the characters of Villa Vailima, exploring through historical fiction an important period of Samoan history, through the eyes of Samoans.  

You can listen to Figel’s story on ABC Pacific, where  ‘Stories from the Pacific’ draw you deep into the lives of Pacific Islanders who have seen and done amazing things.