Bamboo Ridge Issue 118

Juliet S. Kono is the author of the novel Anshū: Dark Sorrow; two poetry collections, Hilo Rains and Tsunami Years; a book of short stories, Ho‘olulu Park and the Pepsodent Smile; and a children’s book, The Bravest ‘Opihi. She co-authored two books of renshi (linked poetry), No Choice but to Follow and What We Must Remember, both initially online writing projects. She has appeared in many anthologies and collections and is the recipient of several awards.

A native of Hawai‘i, Jean Yamasaki Toyama is a Beckett scholar (Beckett’s Game), professor emerita of French and former Associate Dean of the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Her latest books include Wild Elephants, which pairs her poetry and prose; two books of poetry, Prepositions and Kelli’s Hanauma Friends, and The Piano Tuner’s Wife, a collection of short stories. She is one of the renshi poets who co-authored No Choice but to Follow and What We Must Remember and the 2019 recipient of the Elliot Cades Award for Literature.