How long has New Caledonian literature existed? Is it an emerging genre of literature? Why are books written in the French language in New Caledonia? Does New Caledonian literature have something special to tell us? All questions that reflect, even today, ignorance and lack of familiarity with New Caledonia's literary output, which has long endured the presumption that it has as yet no established form or structure, and suffered even more from ambiguity about where it stands between French literature and literature written in French. Moreover, the archipelago of New Caledonia has struggled to build and project a positive image, with the result that its artistic and cultural achievements are overlooked or simply dismissed. And yet, Kanak cultural traditions constitute a rich and ancient heritage. In any event, the history of New Caledonia explains why letters, poems and novels have been written there in French for over 150 years, and only now in the Kanak languages. New Caledonia's literary output cannot boast a long and complex history comparable to European or Caribbean literature, or even to the ancestral orality in which Kanak culture is rooted, but the individual writings of which it is comprised can be gathered together to form a literary history 1 .