Hawai‘i Literature & Art
— Since 1978 —
He knew facts of every refrigerator and range. Still he wondered why local couples walked right past him and went straight to the haole salesmen. Right past the short, pudgy Chinese guy in the short-sleeve white shirt and the crooked tie. Shet, I can sell just as good as dem. He started with a clip-on…
Remember, this month we’re writing pieces that are EXACTLY 100 words in length. Prose, poetry, a hybrid style, anything goes, but make sure your entry is exactly 100 words. The title does not count in the word count. * * * * There is neither light nor fuel for light in the paper lanterns swinging…
The best thing to keep in mind when you are asked to write a hundred words on any topic is that it won’t be deathless prose and that all you really need to do is keep picking them up and putting them down like a middle-distance runner, not worrying about cleverness or elegance of expression…
Here are two possible writing prompts. There is one special requirement for November entries. We’re going back to one of our tried and true favorites. Your entry must be exactly 100 words long. It can be poetry or prose, anything goes, but it must be EXACTLY 100 words in length. * * * * *…
Ha-wong! Or would that be kara-whong!? Just what sound does a meteor make when it plows full-speed into hard desert rock? Anything like the Smack! of horsehide on cowhide of a Big Jim Wilson fastball to the open pocket of a catcher’s mitt? Of course I jest. It’s more like the sound of one giant…
How To Get To My House Go past the gate whitewashed from hawked gobs See the words scribbled in fear to offend, JAP GOOK CHINK Cross to the left, Straight to my heart, Sweet rainwater…
Memories of the Moon and Bon Dance Ed Bon Dance Ed and I make the circuit every season, He rides shotgun for my navigation to temples tucked away In valleys, under and along freeways, and forgotten places, Sometimes we get lost going home And laugh about becoming urban legends, never to be seen again. …
The Japs, my mysterious kin, Had just bombed Pearl Harbor. Each night thereafter, Each home Was allowed one blackened light. So, windows were tarred And cracks under doors were Stuffed with rags, chastizing The light that dared to wander. The block wardens would then Come to check out the lights. Violators were startled by the…
Fragile tree limbs cup The weight of the yellow moon Cane erupts through the soil
I wouldn’t get caught dead in Dubai, so probably then in the end the tallest building I’ll ever have visited in my lifetime is the Shanghai Tower. I went there last year, and two years before, both times to feel that momentary rush to the 128-story top, take a 360-degree survey to spot any changes…