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…

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…

I’ve been thinking a lot about process lately, one, because I am working on novel revisions, and two, because as a composition teacher process is a habit I teach students is significant because of its impact on the depth of their discussion, and on the organization and effectiveness of their arguments. But as a creative…