Watching Fire                     by Mary Wakayama            Must have been '52. On New Year's Eve when Sparky Takahashi was maybe twelve, and I was nine, he set the canefield on fire at the H.S.P.A. That means the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association which is all gone from Makiki now. Finally.           Spark had a lot of impetigo over…

Nostalgia I eased myself behind the counter of my bar, the Harbor, sipping iced tea. It was about 8 p.m. Jim Cannon, the bartender, wasn’t due for another couple of hours. Until then I could handle the slack business myself. The air conditioning purred quietly, banishing the humidity outside. Embroidered tapestries, depicting Oriental myths, covered…

Aloha to all you friends of BAMBOO RIDGE, and a very Happy October to all. Happy Birthday to all the October babies. The seasonal holidays are coming up. Have a great Halloween, but before you go out on the 31st, make sure you enter the October edition of The Great BR Fishing & Wishing 100…

          . . . [T]here are those of us who believe Hawaii no ka oi. We know there exists a body of writing which we identify as the Modern Hawaiian Literary Tradition. We admit that it's a confusing conglomeration of writers representing a variety of cultures and viewpoints. We admit that much research need be done,…

“Sisters”            You've got to understand about Amy. She's not exactly hateful. In fact I like her a lot. I used to like her because she was tough, but now I like her because I know she breaks easily. Once at a carnival Mama bought me a glass sailboat. Sara broke it the next day,…

Untitled                     by Karl Ichida It isn't that hard growing old after all — just a matter of moving beyond the breadth of each morning and forgetting your nightmares caked and drying about your eyes. So now you occupy yourself writing poems about “time” and “reality,” spinning cocoons of words around each day for some winter…

Small Kid Time                                by Maxine Hong Kingston * * * * * Maxine Hong Kingston had already published The Woman Warrior and China Men, and two of her poems were included in the then upcoming issue of The Iowa Review.

Friends of BAMBOO RIDGE! Hey! How are you? I hope you've had a great August and a pleasant summer. Did you remember to put in your August entry for the ongoing Great BR Fishing & Wishing Contest? If not, the themes for this month are listed here: http://www.bambooridge.com/bambooshoot.aspx?bid=1043 Get those entries in. As you might…

Chapter 13 from Island Household                                                                                  by Masato Nagai           It was the first days of June. Kenneth and Willy walked along the main road, toward Peacock Point. They were going to check out the bunker there, then they were going all the way to the Parsons Islet bridge to search for medals. Kenneth stopped, bent…

Introduction: What Can I Say?                                                                                 by Eric Chock I.           When I make my visits to the schools, students, teachers, and administrators are somewhat skeptical of me, a long-haired local guy who is supposed to be a poet. It seems that most people have never met a practicing poet, and they don't know what to expect….