The Bones of “Vigilant Acts” Every time the gun kicked back, she felt electric. “Vigilant Acts” was inspired by several hit-and-runs in Kāneʻohe and those memorials that you see on the side of the road or secured around a traffic signal pole. Over time the sun dries the flowers and degrades the pleas and images,…
The Bones of “Closing Costs” It was just a joke really. A fantasy quietly twisting in Kailen’s mind. Since I mentioned Saunders last week, I’m skipping ahead to another story inspired by him. “Closing Costs” centers around Kailen’s frustrations with being priced out of Hawaiʻi. Needing “release,” he and his partner Lindsey crash open houses…
In this week’s The Bones of Blood Work, Donald Carreira Ching revisits “Kāneʻohe Town”—the shortest piece in the collection, and one of its most essential. Written as a sensory exercise, this prose-poem re-centers the reader in both place and theme. Donald reflects on its origins and offers us a creative prompt inspired by its approach….
Reflections and notes on “Search the Waters,” the first story from Blood Work and Other Stories, the debut short story collection
by Donald A. Carreira Ching.
As Hōkūleʻa celebrates its 50th birthday, author and educator Marion Lyman-Mersereau reflects on her time as a crew member and the values of ʻonipaʻa (steadfastness), laulima (cooperation), and wiwoʻole (courage) that have shaped the stories she shares about her time voyaging. In this humble offering to mark the occasion, Marion shares what Hōkūleʻa’s past and…
The 19th Hawaiʻi Book & Music Fest was Mayyyjah (and so is Kristiana Kahakauwila) by thomas iannucci So if you couldn’t tell by the title, I had a great time yesterday [Sat. 9/14]. The Hawaii Book & Music Festival (hosted at UH Mānoa) was back and fully in-person for the first time since Covid, and…
Wing Tek Lum’s new collection of poetry, The Oldtimers, imagines life in Honolulu Chinatown circa 1900 and gives voice to a forgotten pioneer generation of sojourners and settlers, detailing the trials and temptations of this bachelor society living far from their homeland—their hard work, their diversions, their challenges, and, even amidst the notorious plague and…
Penmanship 1. My father had the most beautiful signature. Driven by compulsion, he made fast little circles in the air above the paper with his pencil, the lead he wet with his tongue. The motion had the same spin as the red wind on the cane roads that picked off hats and bent the grass…