“It [the press name] came from one of my students who wrote an essay about fishing at Bamboo Ridge, on Oʻahu. He was learning from a tight-knit group of old-timers. Some of these guys haven’t caught a fish in years but every weekend during the season, they still go out and try to catch the big Ulua. Try to catch the big fish. To me, that was like writing and getting published.

It’s like going out and doing it, casting the line. You might never catch a fish, but you’re doing the process. That’s half the battle. But if you don’t cast the line, you don’t catch the fish. So, keep casting the line. And when you do catch a fish, it’s a great prize.”

Darrell H.Y. Lum
(co-founding editor of Bamboo Ridge Press, from his oral history interview)

Bamboo Ridge Press was founded in 1978 to foster the creation and appreciation of literature and arts by, for, and about Hawai‘i’s people. It publishes two volumes a year: a literary journal of poetry and fiction featuring work by both emerging and established writers, and a book by a single author or an anthology focused on a special theme. Bamboo Ridge Press is an independent non-profit, tax-exempt corporation supported thru book sales, subscriptions, private donations, and grants.