Publications during candidature No publications. Publications included in this thesis No publications Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. This 'adventure' unfolded because of the unstinting, risk-taking support of my exceptional supervisor Dr. Venero Armanno, under whose guidance I have grown in new ways, and learned to also take risks with story. The unexpected, profound and humbling gift of this encounter and mentorship is something I shall always cherish. Thank you, Veny for your patience, brilliance, story sense, humour, kindness and vision. To my secondary supervisor Professor Gillian Whitlock, for your clarity, panoptic gaze, truth, capacity for witness, genius, courage and profound humanity which has deepened for me the idea of conscious and engaged being. There will never be words enough to explain what these life changing two and half years have been because of you, my supervisors. With all my soul, thank you. To the gallery of brilliant lights that touched my sojourn so profoundly: Professor Carole Ferrier, Dr. Stuart Glover, and the literary communities and reading groups that came together around themes, processes and ideas: Thank you. This thesis is especially dedicated to the entire EMSAH team, and specifically to all those who so wonderfully, effectively and professionally administer the Creative Writing section of things-Catherine Squirrell, Angela Tuohy and Stormy Wehi. Thank you all so much. My deep gratitude to the treasure that is Mzee Haji Gora Haji-poet, seafarer, and project interlocutor, who stimulated the long ago questions that led to this study. You gave of your experiences, vision, time, words, heart, lyrics, and shared your ocean with such generosity. Asante sana. Thank you Hamza Aussiy, artist, unexpected companion in the quest, for helping find Mzee Gora and sending out scouts to find the original Swahili name for the ocean, and translating data. Hildegard Kiel, thank you for the 'home', and for hunting down 'mythical' Philippe Roisse, who emerged to embody an adage offered to would-be scholars: 'if you imagine it, you can be certain that somebody else imagined it before you.' Now I tiptoe along scholarly corridors with my figurative tail tucked between legs, and am the better for it. To the Brisbane community who took me, a stranger, to their hearts and therefore stole mine forever, to friends made, my beloved surrogate family Kay and Paul Bertini, Fr. Brian for spiritual succour in a season of excruciating anguish-thank you and the St. James Coorparoo community. Thank you Salvina Kelly, and Barbara Flynn. Thank you to every newfound sibling in Australia-Peter Onyango who with patience and amusement 'mapped' Brisbane for me, Danielle Bozin who v encouraged, exhorted, and consoled; Esther Onyango, Sarah and, Tristan Callinan, Giang Nguyen, fellow 'musketeers' in this expedition, intellectual sparring partners, and also sanctuaries to retreat to when needed. You p...
