No Choice but to Follow

ANN INOSHITA was born and raised on O'ahu. She has published poems in Bamboo Ridge, Hawai'i Pacific Review, Hawai'i Review, and Tinfish. Her book of poems, Manoa Stream, was published by Kahuaomanoa Press in 2007. Her short play, Wea I Stay: A Play in Hawai'i, was included in The Statehood Project, performed by Kumu Kahua Theatre and published by Fat Ulu Productions. She has an M.A. in English from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and currently teaches at Kapi'olani Community College.

Most recently, JULIET S. KONO has been featured in Imagine What It's Like, an anthology which combines literature and medicine. Forthcoming is Anshuu: Dark Sorrow, a historical novel set in Hawai'i and Japan, which will be published in 2010. Born and raised in Hilo, Hawai'i, she lives in Honolulu with her husband and continues to teach at Leeward Community College. She received her Jodo Shinshu Tokudo (entrance into the priesthood) ordination in 2007 and works toward reflecting the Dharma reality in her daily life.

Born and raised on the island of O'ahu, CHRISTY PASSION has, in recent years, been drawn to both poetry and short story writing. Her work has been published in local venues such as Bamboo Ridge, Hawai'i Pacific Review, and the anthology Honolulu Stories. Her poetry has won both local and national awards, including the James Vaughn Award, The Atlanta Review International Merit Award, and the Academy of American Poetry Award. She works as a critical care nurse at the Queen's Medical Center. This is her first book.

JEAN YAMASAKI TOYAMA is a poet, scholar, translator, and writer of fiction. She is emerita professor of French at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where she taught and was associate dean of the College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature. She lives in Hawai'i where she was born and raised.