Hawai‘i Literature & Art
— Since 1978 —
Somewhere in Vietnam, a deformed child begs for change (an unacknowledged, third generation victim of the spray) A few streets over, an ARVN soldier is turned away from the V.A. (only “freedom fighters” are eligible for benefits, they say) In Can Tho, a tourist takes his first bite of Banh Xeo (pleasantly surprised to find…
I lazily gaze into the same backyard I’ve been gazing into since childhood Feeling like this time’s the first And a deep sense inhabits my being: There was always a place for me here and there always will be I am intimately aware of the bark on the apple tree And the blades of grass…
Ralph says, When I first came here, my Army days, this whole place was kind of a blank canvas. We’re sitting on the wall at Magic Island watching the waves roll in under the setting sun. I’ve known Ralph for 50 years. We met in a philosophy class at the University of Hawai‘i. I know what you mean, I say. It was like…
Okay, Happy May, I hope everybody got lei’d on the 1st. Now that we’re coming into summer, it’s time to start heating up the writing. So without further ado here are possible prompts for May — which you can ignore if you want to write about anything. Pieces in any language other than English are…