Renshi, linked poetry, is an important part of our Bamboo Ridge identity. Our four renshi poets (Ann Inoshita, Juliet S. Kono, Christy Passion, and Jean Yamasaki Toyama) have collaborated on two books of poetry and have hosted numerous workshops across the islands and in major cities on the Continent. They are always encouraging others to…
2020 feels like something out of an apocalyptic dystopian dime novel. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives in many ways and people are feeling more unsure and disconnected than ever before. In the spirit of comfort and community, the Bamboo Ridge ohana wants to encourage everyone to write, to read, and to remember that…
Aloha friends, fellow poets and readers. Let’s celebrate February as ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language) Month. He Au Hou, “a new era” is a 21st century oli (chant). It’s written to be chanted “leo nui -style”, loudly and proudly, from the rooftops, from a canoe, even a mountaintop. Translation provided below its original text for Da…
Aloha mai kākou e Bamboo Ridge readers, February is also known as the Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian Language Month. The impact of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi covers a broad spectrum of impressions on those who come into contact with it. Ranging from the simple brush of “aloha” and “mahalo”, to those who eat, sleep, cry, chant, think…
It was an exciting Saturday at The Manifest in downtown Honolulu–the perfect day for a book launch. Live music greeted attendees as they arrived and perused the book table and drink menu. There was hardly an empty seat to be found!
Want to submit something for our next anthology? Check out this short article on "Getting Published: Tips from the Bamboo Ridge editors"
Written by Joanna Bressler at the Honolulu Book Fair. Three Bamboo Ridge authors/editors gave a quickie class in flash fiction. Well, what other kind of class would you give on that topic? Regarding the following piece, unfortunately I don't believe in past lives but I'm always interested in future ones.
At a recent meeting today with Misty Sanico and Richard Melendez, the topic of personal journeys came up. But not just the inner journeys we navigate, but also the questions of identity, community, and place that we articulate into our prose and/or poetry. All genres reflect the individual, regardless of the disclaimers we attach to…