Bill Teter, ed. From the powerful opening words of the Kumulipo to the propulsive rhymes of contemporary slam poetry, Hāpai nā Leo celebrates a diverse range of voices that explore, carry, and regenerate Hawaiian culture. Editor Bill Teter created Hāpai nā Leo as a literary companion to Malcolm [...]
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Apart from the everyday world that I walk around in, there’s another world I enter when I’m writing a new story. It’s like a dream world because it has elements of my everyday world, but transformed somewhere in my mind into something strange and new. Just how strange varies from story to story.

In this dreamlike world, I quite willingly suspend my disbelief, and trust that most readers will be willing to do the same. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner guy, was the one who came up with “willing suspension of disbelief” as a necessity in the dream world of storytelling. In return for entertainment—a good story—the reader agrees to accept some fantastic elements in the story.

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Anyone who’s spent any length of time away from the Islands—or sent a care package to a homesick college student—knows: Hawai‘i folk feel strongly about the tastes of home. It goes beyond craving a familiar food. It’s a comforting connection that resonates in our souls.

“Saimin” is a contraction of the Chinese words “sai” (thin) and “mein” (noodle). Saimin noodles are unique in that they contain eggs and are curly and slightly chewy when cooked. The popular staple (see photo page ii) dates back to the plantation era, when it cost 10 cents for a large bowl, 5 cents for a small one, at Waipahu’s Shiroma Saimin stand in the 1930s. Saimin is served alongside hot dogs and burgers throughout the Islands—only in Hawai‘i is it found on the menu at Jack in the Box and McDonald’s. Hamura’s Saimin Stand on Kaua‘i was even recognized by the prestigious James Beard Foundation as one of America’s Classics in 2006

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The island of Lana`i gets little written attention compared to the others of Hawai`i. But in the book cited below that’s resolved. In it are loads of stories about the tiny 13-miles long and wide island. Take its meaning. “La” for day – and “na`i” for conquest. Which memorializes the da [...]
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November 21 2009 You’ve probably heard rumblings in the media about the extremely controversial Google Books Settlement proposed to U.S. District Court this past week. It’s complex—the document is itself a 300-page book. But it’s pretty radical in its effects and implications for authors, [...]
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The new Bamboo Ridge collection, Issue #94, launches this Monday evening (November 23) at the UH Campus Center Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public, with a reception at 7 p.m. and reading at 7:30 p.m.

Featured readers: Ann Inoshita, Brenda Kwon, Michael Little, Wing Tek Lum, Alexei Melnick, Tyler Miranda, Janine Oshiro, K. L. Quilantang, Jr., Joseph Stanton, Delaina Thomas, and Kahikahealani Wight.

I want to spotlight two poems from the book, written by Ghislaine Chock. I asked Ghislaine to comment on the creation of these two poems and the inspiration for them.

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Here's the place to talk about books being read by this club. Join in the conversation, whether or not you're a member!

Here you can talk about the books being read by The Reading Edge, the‘Aiea Library's reading group.

1778. How godly were Hawaiian chiefs treated at the time? Captain Clerke, an officer of Captain James Cook, felt native attendants were way too protective of their Kaua`i “chief of note,” Tamahano. Bodyguards carefully lifted him into the English ship. But, they stopped the native king from goin [...]
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