In Anticipation of Mark Twain’s Autobiography Posted on UH Press Blog on 7 October 2010 Read the rest of this entry »

Learn more about Hawai‘i’s famous “Go for Broke” soldiers of the 442nd and 100th with these popular titles from UH Press:
Unlikely Liberators: The Men of the 100th and 442nd, by Masayo Umezawa Duus; translated by Peter Duus
“A fascinating and highly readable slice of history which should be told, and told repeatedly. If ever a group of Americans had been driven to the point of despair and rebellion, it was the Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II. . . . Unlikely Liberators vividly portrays in remarkable realism the officers and men with whom I served. Every American should read Masayo Duus’ book to better understand the true spirit of America which sustains its greatness.” —former U.S. Senator Spark Matsunaga

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I know it's a bit peculiar to be comparing Juliet Kono's new novel Anshū to an Agatha Christie mystery novel, but the two books kind of landed in [...]
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This week and next, Bamboo Ridge will be launching Juliet Kono's novel Anshū: Wednesday, September 22, at Manoa Valley Theatre: 7:00 p.m. Reception, 7:30 p.m. Reading by Juliet S. Kono of An [...]
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Do you know your sidekicks? Sidekicks, in literature and real life, are those loyal assistants who don't get the glory, although they play vital roles. [...]
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Detective sidekicks, anyone? For the past few weeks I’ve been preparing, off and on, for a workshop I’m leading this week for the Sisters in Crime chapter in Honolulu.

It’s set for Wednesday, September 15, at Makiki Community Library (1527 Keeaumoku Street, Honolulu).  The Sisters in Crime meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and the workshop at 7:00 p.m.  Visitors are welcome.

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FORTHCOMING DECEMBER 2009 Originally serialized in the Hawaiian language newspaper Kuokoa Home Rula from January 1909 to April 1910, this new edition of Ka Mo‘olelo Hiwahiwa o Kawelo presents Ho‘oulumahiehie's text in modernized Hawaiian with notes and an introduction by Native Hawaiian scholar [...]
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The exotic calls to us. And second chances. If you live in Hawaii and pick up a novel set in Newfoundland, you might as well be visiting a distant planet. If you [...]
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"Taking their cue from over a hundred years of Japanese linked verse, four erstwhile strangers set out on their own adventurous pilgrimage of renshi. Straying from clas [...]
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As promised, here is more advance praise for Juliet Kono’s novel Anshū, which Bamboo Ridge Press will publish in September.

For more about Anshū, see “Anshū: powerful novel coming in September.” I am moved by the strong personal impact of the book on these early readers.

Juliet S. Kono has crafted a remarkable novel, weaving together experiences of darkness and flames and turning it into a story of luminous strength and determination. Himiko is a very young child who is consumed with fire—burns them everywhere even at the risk of turning her own body into fuel for the flames. Pregnant in pre-World War II Hilo, Hawai‘i, she is sent to Japan where she encounters harsh treatment from relatives who have little to spare.

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