by Moana Peleiholani-Blankenfeld

July 10, 2018

Dr. Clint Anderson is a spoken-word poet and a popular teacher at Kamehameha, Hawaiʻi Campus. In this interview, he discusses his background, his inspirations, and his poetry.

by Jaci Parong

July 11, 2018

Gary Pak is a Korean American who has been published in numerous anthologies, magazines and literary journals. He was born in Honolulu and raised in Kaneohe. He attended Boston University and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Gary is currently a professor of English at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is the author of The Watcher of Waipuna and Other Stories, A Ricepaper Airplane, Children of a Fireland, Language of the Geckos and Other Stories, and Brothers Under a Same Sky. He also wrote a few short stories, particularly “The Gift,” which is the story that I interviewed him on.

by Ilysia Sharai Sana

July 08, 2018

Manulani Aluli Meyer is from the shorelines of Mokapu and Kailua on Oʻahu and from the shoreline of Hilo Palikū. These three places are to be considered her home with a shared coincidence - they are about fresh and salt-water.  She now lives in Palehua, above Makakilo, where I went for this in-person interview.  Manu received her B.A. in 1983 from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; an M.A. in 1985 from the University of Northern Colorado, and an Ed.D. (Doctorate in Education) in Philosophy of Education in 1998, from Harvard.  Her book, Hoʻoulu: Our Time Becoming was first published in 2001 by ʻAi Pōhaku Press.

by Asia Helfrich

July 24, 2018

Brenda Kwon is a Korean American writer who was born and raised in Hawaiʻi. She received a B.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. in American Literature from UCLA. Currently, she teaches writing at Honolulu Community College and runs her own yoga practice. Her works have been featured in many anthologies and journals, including Bamboo Ridge Press. She is the author of Beyond Keʻeaumoku: Koreans, Nationalism, and Local Culture in Hawaiʻi, and was a co-editor of YOBO: Korean American Writing in Hawaiʻi. I was fortunate enough to interview her about her most recent collection of poetry and short stories: The Sum of Breathing, published by Bamboo Ridge Press...

interview by Ashley Zukeran

July 11, 2018

Susan Yuen’s hobby for creating cute bento boxes for her daughter quickly turned into a book popularized in Hawaiʻi. Author of Hawaiʻi’s Bento Box Cookbook, Yuen grew up in Hilo, Hawaiʻi with a love for cooking. After moving to Oʻahu in 1989 and graduating from UH Mānoa, she began her career working as a sous chef and running a catering company. After having kids, she began creating fun and creative bento boxes as a creative outlet while she was a stay-at-home mother. Her children inspired her to create various characters and themes related to the cartoon shows they were interested in at the time. Yuen began creating books with bento recipes in 2007 and was published in 2008 by a local publishing company...

Interviewed by Jessica Minick

October 14, 2017

Chris Caravalho is a Honolulu born comic book writer and artist. He is also the founder of Mana Comics. He had been dreaming up creating his own comic book for 25 years. Inspired by Saturday morning cartoons and the superheroes in Marvel and DC comics, he created ʻAumākua: Guardians of Hawaiʻi. In our interview, we talked about the importance of women in the comic world...

by Ian Shortridge

December 01, 2017

Cilla Behic is a long time resident of Kona; and the owner and operator of Onolicious LLC, a local bakery known for its famous chantilly cupcakes. Although a lot of her time is spent in the kitchen, she is also a mother of five, and in her free time, a poet. She has written many poems that inspire her friends, family, and her community to live life to the fullest. Just recently, Cilla and her husband delivered a collaborative message to their local church. It was there she shared her most recent poem, “Discipleship 101.”

by Brenna Usher

November 16, 2017

Born and raised on Maui, Brandy Nālani McDougall is of Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiʻi, Maui, Oʻahu, and Kauaʻi lineages), Chinese and Scottish descent. She received a PhD in English, specializing in Contemporary Kanaka Maoli Literature, from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2011. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies in the American Studies Department at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. In 2008 McDougall authored her first collection of poetry, titled The Salt-Wind: Ka Makani Paʻakai...

by Kathleen Aragon

November 12, 2017

Shawna Yang Ryan is a Taiwanese-American author who was born and raised in Northern California. She earned her Bachelors of Arts from the University of California – Berkeley, and her Masters in Creative Writing at the University of California - Davis. She teaches at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in the Creative Writing Program and is an influential voice in the diverse landscape of local author-based literature. Her first novel, Water Ghosts (Penguin Press, 2009), highlights the occurrence of Chinese immigration to America in the search for more opportunity, through the impacts of three old women. Such instances of relocation are embedded in Hawaiʻi’s own history as the influx of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Filipino groups initially made their way to the islands for the promise of sugarcane plantation work and a new start...

by Kimm Staats

October 20, 2017

Ann M. Tanimoto was mainland born, and Hilo raised. Her love for nature as a child resulted in her later earning a M.S. degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science in 2014. Since graduating, Ann has been working with Dr. Patrick Hart in his Listening Observatory for Hawaiian Ecosystems Bioacoustics Lab. Her published study “Changes in vocal repertoire of the Hawaiian crow, Corvus hawaiiensis, from past wild to current captive populations,” that focuses on a specie native to this state, provides another facet of material written about Hawaiʻi.

An Author Interview by Tearina-Grace Asiata

October 18, 2017

Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl is a prominent local author and playwright. She is of Hawaiian and Samoan descent. She was born at Kapiʻolani hospital in the year 1949 and grew up in Manoa Valley. She attended Punahou High School and dropped out at the age of seventeen. There was a period in her life when she moved to Samoa and stayed there for seven years. When she returned to Hawaiʻi in the late 1970s, that was when she decided to go back to school, so she decided to enroll at the Academy of the Arts. She was the recipient of the prestigious Hawaiʻi Award for Literature in 1994 and later in 2006, she also received the Eliot Cades Award for Literature. In one of her plays, called Emmalehua, she conveys the complications and challenges natives undergo in order to preserve their cultural heritage. It is a play that places emphasis on intertwining historical and cultural aspects as a way of defining oneself.

by Martabella Freedman

October 18, 2017

Lynne Farr wrote for Hollywood television programs including The Bob Newhart Show and The Love Boat. She and her life partner, painter Shingo Honda, relocated from Los Angeles to Hawaiʻi and from 2007 to 2013, Lynne wrote three books about their experiences transitioning from the dazzling world of L.A. to the rustic backwoods of Hawaiʻi, starting with Off The Grid Without A Paddle. In 2014, she published a novel: On The Seventh Day She Rested.

An Author Interview by Amanda Canda

October 18, 2017

Patsy Y. Iwasaki is a local writer and teacher at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. She is the author of Hamakua Hero: A True Plantation Story, a biographical graphic novel about Katsu Goto, a Japanese plantation worker who was instrumental in the organization and revolution of Hawaiʻi island plantation workers seeking better workers’ rights. Due to the success of her graphic novel, she is currently working on a documentary film about the project. Additionally, Patsy Iwasaki teaches courses in English and Communications at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

Interview by Aimee Funk

October 17, 2017

Kirsten Mollegaard is currently a professor of English at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and has been a resident of Hawaiʻi for over thirty years. Born in 1961 in Denmark, Kirsten immigrated to the United States with her husband in her adult life, where she began working in retail and performing in theatre on the side. She originally studied cultural anthropology and received her bachelor of arts in English from UH Hilo in 2002. She then received her master’s and doctoral degrees from UH Mānoa, and has been teaching at UH Hilo since 2005, beginning as a gender and women’s studies teacher, then teaching 100 level English. She has many published works in the academic sphere, specifically in international journals and books. Her works that are specifically discussed in this interview are an article titled “Aloha Ahoy: Tourism and Nostalgia at Honolulu Harbor” and an analysis of her students’ work in a book titled Folk Belief and Traditions of the Supernatural.

Author Interview by Heidi Featherstone

October 17, 2017

Susan Wackerbarth is an Instructor of English at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. She has an MA in English, and an MFA in Creative Writing. She has written two unpublished novels and several short stories. In addition to this, she is a wife and mother and is also involved in chorale singing. Wackerbarth is currently working on publishing her first novel that takes place in Hilo town, specifically at downtown Hilo’s historic Palace Theater...

by Camry K. Isabel

October 17, 2017

George Kahumoku, known to most as “Uncle G,” is a local story writer, song writer, artist and musician. Uncle G was born and raised in Kealia, South Kona on Hawaiʻi Island. He received his diploma in 1969 from Kamehameha Schools, Kapālama Campus, where he attended grades K-12. Later, Uncle G continued his education in Oakland, CA, where he received his BFA in Fine Arts & his 5th year teaching credential from California College of Arts and Crafts in 1974. Next, he moved to the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, achieving his Master’s in Education Administration in 1980. He also graduated from UH Mānoa’s Ag Leadership program in 1992. Later, he got his Master’s in Education from the Grand Canyon University in 2003 . . . Uncle G explains that he does not have much free time to himself, but he does split his time playing music, teaching and mentoring . . .

Interview by Briana Mahi

October 17, 2017

The​ ​artist​ ​I​ ​decided​ ​to​ ​interview​ ​and​ ​share​ ​with​ ​everyone​ ​is​ ​a​ ​well​ ​respected​ ​man​ ​in​ ​the​ ​world​ ​of Hawaiian​ ​music. ​Benjamin​ ​Kaʻili​, ​from​ ​Keaukaha,​ ​Hawaiʻi,​ ​is​ ​a​ ​well​ ​known​ ​local​ ​artist/musician​ ​who has​ ​been​ ​featured​ ​in ​several​ ​different​ ​albums​ ​that​ ​were​ ​later​ ​nominated​ ​at​ ​the​ ​Nā​ ​Hōkū Hanohano​ ​awards.​ ​Ben’s​ ​first​ ​album​ ​was​ ​released​ ​about​ ​ten​ ​years​ ​ago,​ a​nd​ ​continues​ ​to​ ​be played​ ​today​ ​on​ ​local​ ​radio​ ​stations.​ ​His​ ​latest​ ​album,​ ​Huanani,​ ​was​ ​released​ ​November​ ​25th 2013,​ ​featuring​ ​12​ ​songs.​ ​. . .

An Interview with Jozuf Hadley by M. Kadmiel Rey

October 16, 2017

Jozuf Hadley, also known as “Bradajo,” is initially from the island of Kauaʻi and is now retired on Hawaiʻi Island, where he lives in Kona. His lyrical and poetic works all started after an awakening in Waimea Canyon...

by Xavier Durant

October 12, 2017

Craig Howes graduated from the University of Toronto and he went on to earn his Ph.D. from Princeton. He has been on faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa since 1980. He is the co-editor of the journal Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, and he is a former president of the Hawaiʻi Literary Arts Council (1983). He has worked as the principal scholar and Executive Producer for the Biography Hawaiʻi series, and has won several teaching and literature awards. Dr. Howes is well-known for his short story “The Resurrection Man,” published in 1987, and his more recent work as co-editor and the author of one of the introductions to The Value of Hawaiʻi: Knowing the Past, Shaping the Future.

Interview by Rochelle Koi

June 06, 2017

Lois-Ann Yamanaka is a local writer who was born on September 7, 1961 on the island of Molokaʻi. She grew up in the sugarcane plantation town of Pahala on the Big Island. She went on to higher education and obtained a Bachelors and Master’s degree in Education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She found success with her first written novel, Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre, a book of pidgin poems on a young Japanese-American’s perspective of the issues she faced as an adolescent...

Author Interview by Stacey Reed

June 07, 2017

Hal Glatzer is a retired journalist, musician, and mystery writer, living on the Island of Hawaiʻi. He has written several books, including a trilogy centered around the musician Katy Green. The most recent in that series, The Last Full Measure, is an upbeat historical mystery that takes place primarily on the ship named Lurline and on the Big Island. One part murder mystery, one part espionage, one part treasure hunt, this story, set on the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor, is a delightful read that follows Katy Green from just scraping by in the New York music scene, to the high seas on the Lurline, to the shores of the Big Island...

Author Interview by Heather Simon

June 05, 2017

Frances Kakugawa is a local Japanese author from Kapoho, Hawaiʻi. She currently resides in Sacramento, California.  Frances writes a variety of works, from advice columns in a newspaper, to poems, to children’s books, to novels. Frances began reading and writing in her family’s outhouse because it was one of the few places in her childhood that she felt she could find privacy.  In the following interview, we discuss many of her works. Currently, she is mostly dedicated to writing her blog when the itch hits and her advice column in the Hawaiʻi Herald.  Frances also holds writing workshops for caregivers and other adults...

Author Interview by Rochelle Koi

June 05, 2017

Frankie Bow is a local author whose first novel, The Musubi Murder is about a college professor being from the mainland comes to Hawaiʻi to teach at the university but is faced with murder and mystery. Frankie likes to add a touch of humor to her writing and many agree that her Hawaiʻi based novel is very good at allowing the readers an inside look at the culture here. 

Interview by: Karl Reid

June 07, 2017

Mark Panek has been a busy boy: he has won praise and awards for his writing (Gaijin Yokozuna in 2006, Big Happiness in 2011, and Hawaiʻi in 2013), he has won the Elliot Cades Award for Literature (in 2013), he has been awarded The University of Hawaiʻi Regent Medal for excellence in teaching (in 2008), he taught his son how to ski in Japan (winter break 2016), he professes at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (where he teaches grammar, non-fiction, and fiction classes), and he “kills it” on the stand-up bass in the band Bending Elbows. His latest novel, Hawaiʻi, provides a scathing view of 21st century paradise...

Author Interview by Anne Rivera

June 06, 2017

Audrey Wilson is a Hilo native and has been behind the cookbooks that catalog some of the best of Big Island foods, restaurants and traditions. She graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and stayed on Oʻahu for a few years before returning to her home here in Hilo. She is well traveled and enjoys more than just the food she eats. She engulfs herself in the history, the culture, and the traditions that surround some of the greatest foods, not just in the Hawaiian Islands, but around the world. She is the author of A Mother’s Gift to Her Three Sons, An Eruption of Recipes from Volcano, What the Big Island Likes to Eat, and Aunty Audrey’s Big Island Eats. She is also the writer for a column titled "Let’s Talk Food" for the local paper, Hawaiʻi Tribune Herald, where she not only discusses food and recipes but...

by Jamie Josephson

May 10, 2017

Sage U‘ilani Takehiro was born and raised in Hilo, Hawai‘i. She graduated from Hilo High in 2000. She went on to receive a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Political Science from UH Mānoa. During her time in school, she earned the Ernest Hemingway award in creative writing, as well as the Myrle Clark award. She works for Big Island Weekly, writing the pidgin column. Her first publication, Honua, a collection of poems, was published in 2007.

An interview by Mana Peleiholani-Blankenfeld

March 21, 2017

Joseph Christian is the pseudonym of Christian Egner.  Egner was born and raised in the Catalina Islands of Southern California, and now resides in Puna, Hawaiʻi with his wife and dog.  He is a laborer and loves to craft anything, as long as his hands still work.  Although Egner loves to craft, he also finds time to tell stories, which brought forth the publication of his book Journey to Wahi Pana: Legendary Land in 2009.

Q: Do you write things other than stories?

A: No, I only write stories.  I mainly write about my life experiences, as well as made up stories of things that are fun, like Pacific adventure, and what other people think are fun.

Q: What was your motivation to write this novella?

A: Everyone has one good story to tell, so I felt I should write one.

Interview by Rhealiza Pira

April 03, 2017

Jacquelyn (Jackie) Pualani Johnson has worked with the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo for 38 years as a professor in the Performing Arts Department and will be retiring this Spring Semester. Jackie is most known for her musical, Hilo Da Musical, that was done in Spring 2015. However, her latest works are from Fall 2016 for UH Hilo’s One Act Festival: Cinderella Sagas, where she wrote a total of three spinoffs of the Cinderella story we all know. Jackie has also inspired and encouraged many UH students to pursue their endeavors, no matter what they may be.

Author Interview by Christine Nicholas

April 18, 2017

Born in 1973 in the city of Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu is Chris McKinney, author of the novel Mililani Mauka. Chris McKinney is an alumnus of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where he received his B.A. and M.A. in the field of English. McKinney is an established author with six published novels: The Tattoo, The Queen of Tears, Bolohead Row, Mililani Mauka, Boi No Good, and Yakudoshi: Age of Calamity. He also co-wrote The Red-Headed Hawaiian, and found success in Hollywood when he wrote the screenplay for the 2011 film Broken Paradise, which earned a nomination for the best film category at the Los Angeles Pacific Film Festival. My interview will focus on his novel Mililani Mauka, that examines how pursuit of “the American Dream” affects two different families in Hawaiʻi.

Author Interview by James Reagan

April 03, 2017

Kamuela Chandler is a Hilo-based artist and comic book writer from Kekaha, Kauaʻi. He has self-published two comics: Sacred Space and The Legend of Pikoi, and is co-founder of Manga Hawaii LLC. A limited edition hardcover of his artwork Wahi Pana Kauai was published by Apple Press. He is also the illustrator for Kuʻulei Kanahele’s Ke Kaʻao no Kamiki. Chandler is a graduate of Hawaiʻi Community College with a degree in Hawaiian Studies. He is presently finishing up a double major in Japanese Studies and Asia Pacific Cultures with a minor in Art at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. He expresses his talent with a variety of media and for content draws upon Hawaiian tradition, eastern influences, and popular culture.

by Jessie Sheridan

April 15, 2017

Geraldine Heng is a poet, and an Associate Professor of Literature at the University of Texas at Austin. In this interview she answers questions about her past and present work, and also shares three of her unpublished poems!

An Interview by Ciarra-Lynn Parinas

April 15, 2017

William Alfred Nuʻutupu Giles – better known as Will Giles – is a Honolulu born poet and performer. He was born and raised in Hawaiʻi and attended Kaiser high school on Oʻahu. For his undergraduate studies, Giles jumped around between Kapiʻolani Community College, Utah Valley State College, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

            Giles is an experienced poet, competing in both the International Poetry Slam (IPS) in 2008 and the National Poetry Slam (NPS) from 2014-2016. Giles was part of the team that won the IPS in 2008, and in 2015, he was part of the Hawaiʻi team that placed second at the NPS. In 2015, Giles also won the Individual Underground Championship...

interview by Elise Inouye

April 02, 2017

Lisa Linn Kanae was born and raised in the Kapahulu area on the island of Oʻahu. She graduated from Kaimukī High School and went on to attend the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she graduated with her bachelor’s in English, and eventually achieved her masters in English with a creative writing focus. She is currently an associate professor at Kapiʻolani Community College on Oʻahu and serves as the department chair for languages, linguistics, and literature (LLL), in addition to teaching courses in both composition and literature. Lisa also serves as a guest editor for local publishing company Bamboo Ridge Press from time to time. Her two main published works include Sista Tongue (2003), and Islands Linked by Ocean (2009)...

an author interview by Uilani Dasalla

March 12, 2017

Lee Cataluna was born and raised on the island of Maui, Hawaiʻi, and is an award winning playwright, and author of two books. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of California at Riverside and has taught high school students at Oʻahu’s ʻIolani school. Currently, Ms. Cataluna works for Honolulu Star Advertiser. Her works show the silly parts (and the concerning struggles) about living in Hawaiʻi. Her newest novel for adults is Three Years on Doreen’s Sofa (2011), but her first book was a collection of monologues or vignettes called Folks You Meet in Longs and Other Stories (2005). Folks You Meet in Longs was also staged as a play at Kumu Kahua Theatre on Oʻahu, and at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. I had the honor of interviewing Ms. Cataluna about this collection of stories that convey the experiences anyone may encounter when shopping at Longs...

by Tynsl Kailimai

March 14, 2017

Judi Riley is an author and illustrator for children’s books. Her published works include: When I am Quiet on Maui, When I am Quiet on Oʻahu, and The Original Merkins: A Field Journal. She resides on the island of Maui. She is originally from Toronto, Canada, but as a young child she and her family lived in Hong Kong for quite some time before moving back to Canada. She is also an independent schoolteacher and has the experience of running two independent private schools single-handedly. She is also the designer behind Happy Honu Lanai, a clothing and blanket line for kids. Her inspiration for becoming an author and illustrator comes from her passion as a child and also from her father who encouraged her to publish her creative stories...

by Sharlene Macasieb

March 21, 2017

Cathy Song was born in Wahiawa, on the island of Oʻahu, in 1955. Her father was a pilot for Aloha Airlines, and her mother a housewife. Later she moved to town where she attended Kahala Elementary, Kaimukī Middle School, and Kalani High School. She graduated in 1973, went to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for two years, then transferred to Wellesley College in Massachusetts. After Wellesley, she did graduate studies in Creative Writing at Boston University, married, and lived in Boston until 1982, writing what would be some of the poems in her first book: Picture Bride. She also lived in Denver, where her husband was doing a residency in Emergency Medicine. She returned to Hawaiʻi and raised three children in Honolulu. In 1993 they began going to Volcano on Hawaiʻi Island, and spent part of their time there. Her book Picture Bride (1982) is the award-winning book of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Collection.

by Quinn Hamamoto

March 13, 2017

Currently, Muriel “Mililani” Hughes is part of the English faculty at UH Hilo.  But before moving to Hilo, she was born and raised on Maui.  Eventually, she got her college education at UH Mānoa with an English degree paired with an education minor.  At some point after getting her degree, she moved to Volcano Village with her husband.  Mrs. Hughes continues to do an admirable job in juggling her academic career while maintaining her passion for writing.  In addition to writing poetry, she has published her short story, “Daddy Wen Make But He Still Wen Tell Me Something” in the anthology Hoʻokupu: An Offering of Literature by Native Hawaiian Women...

an interview by Nanea Fukuda

April 02, 2017

Cathy Kanoelani Ikeda is a poet of Hawaiian and Japanese ancestry from Lahaina. She attended Kamehameha Schools and worked there as a teacher for 13 years. Since working there she has decided to carry out Pauahi’s mission and is working within the community instead. Cathy has included her moʻokūʻauhau poem for us to read through and get a better understanding of who she is and the work she creates...

author interview by Misty Figueira

March 31, 2017

By day, he goes by Officer Caravalho, a police officer in the state of Hawaiʻi. By night, he turns into Christopher Caravalho, author of Mana Comics’ ʻAumākua: Guardians of Hawaiʻi, a comic book series about Hawaiʻi’s first group of local superheroes. I had the chance to interview Christopher about his work, and gain some insight to his comic book, “Mana Double Feature: Sistah Shark and Geckoman,” and was also able to ask him some questions about his ‘Aumakua Guardians of Hawai’i Issue #4, which is anticipated to be released in April 2017...

author interview by Maia Furer

March 14, 2017

Nora Okja Keller is a Korean American author. She was born in Seoul, Korea in 1965 but has lived in Hawaiʻi from the age of three. She has written novels such as Comfort Woman and Fox Girl. Her novels are based in both Korea and Hawaiʻi and focus on the relationships of women. Her work tackles tough subjects such as sex trafficking and how the trauma of those experiences affect the next generation of women. Keller received her Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz and now teaches at Punahou School in Honolulu. University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo student, Maia Furer, interviewed Keller and asked her to address some of the issues that are depicted in her novels...

interview by Kealiʻi Kuikahi

March 13, 2017

I know him as “Kumu,” but others know of him as Roy Kākulu Alameida. He was born and raised in Wailua, Oʻahu. Growing up on one of the last plantations on the island meant daily adventures. Since his family lived next to the beach, the majority of his time was spent there. Swimming, surfing, fishing, anything involving the water was where one could find Roy and his friends. One book that remains a favorite of his until this day is Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. The reason he enjoys this book is because of the parallel of the colonization that happened in the book and what happened in old Hawaiʻi. Stories of Old Hawaiʻi, published in 1997, was Roy’s first book...

an interview by Justin Kamuela Chandler

April 02, 2017

Christopher Caravalho spent much of his childhood in Kailua, Oʻahu.  He began drawing at a very young age and loved characters from Hanna Barbera, Spider-Man, and the Justice League.  Caravalho is the founder of Mana Comics Group, a Hawaiʻi-based independent comic book publishing house serving as the distribution platform of Caravalho’s work.  That work is ‘Aumākua: Guardians of Hawaiʻi, a superhero comic inspired by many golden, silver, and bronze age comics.  His most recent work is issue #4 in the ongoing ʻAumākua series. It is currently in a crowd-funding campaign and will feature another Hawaiʻi-based comic book hero, Pineapple Man created by Sam Campos.  The crossover event is the first ever for Caravalho and Campos and will feature artwork by Hawaiʻi island native, DJ Keawekane.  In a recent interview Christopher was gracious enough to share some of his thoughts about the comic book industry in Hawaiʻi and around the U.S. and what that could mean for aspiring creators...

by Kaʻalalani Ahu

April 02, 2017

Dr. Kū Kahakalau was born on Oʻahu, but currently resides in Kukuihaele on the island of Hawaiʻi. Through her upbringing she was influenced by many different cultures, which helped her to shape the foundation of indigenous education in Hawaiʻi and throughout the world. Dr. Kū Kahakalau is a cultural practitioner, native Hawaiian educator, researcher, and song-writer. She studied Liberal Arts at Kapiʻolani Community College, and went on to get her bachelors degree in Secondary Education and Hawaiian Language from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She then later received her Ph.D. in Indigenous Education from the Union Institute and University in 2002. Dr. Kū Kahakalau has since founded Kanu O Ka ʻĀina, which was one of the first Hawaiian Public Charter Schools on the island of Hawaiʻi.  Her latest endeavor involved creating Basic Hawaiian, a values-based Hawaiian language and cultural program that balances traditional hands-on learning with the latest in digital media. Drawing from her rich experience and influence, Dr. Kū Kahakalau composed many well-known mele (songs). One of her songs, entitled He Pō Lani Makamae...

Author Interview by Ganga Adhikari

March 19, 2017

Robert B. McCaw grew up in a military family travelling the world. After graduating from Georgetown University, he served as a lieutenant in the US Army before earning his JD (Doctor of Jurisprudence) degree from the University Of Virginia School Of Law. Upon graduation from law school he spent a year as a judicial clerk for Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black. He practiced law in Washington, DC and New York City, representing investment banks, lawyers, directors, and other clients in complex civil and criminal cases, including many that generated significant press coverage.

For a number of years, Bob has maintained a home on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, studying its history, culture, and peoples. According to his blog, Archaeology and astronomy are among his many interests. In researching his book Death of a Messenger, he talked story with Hawaiʻi County police officers and walked the streets where much of this story takes place...

an interview by Dane Uy

April 02, 2017

Born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, near the 29-mile marker by the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Garrett Hongo is an award-winning poet who continues to exceed expectations by demonstrating the importance of history and natural surroundings. Since a young age, Hongo has been able to capture the attention of a large audience by diving into the roots and bones of culture and family. He has written several novels and poems that exemplify the meaning of family and culture; novels such as Yellow Light, or Coral Road, and poems like “Pupukea Shell.” Within each of his works, he continues to enlighten his readers about Japanese-American immigration before, during, as well as after the events of WWII in the United States. With the significance of Hongo’s focus on culture, he also praises how the land around us creates a heavy impact on who we are as people. He is a distinguished author who now teaches at the University of Oregon at Eugene as a creative writing professor.

by Michelle Mazzetti

March 14, 2016

John Dvorak has written numerous papers and articles for scientific journals, and has recently published two fascinating books: Earthquake Storms:The Fascinating History and Volatile Future of the San Andreas Fault (2014), and The Last Volcano: A Man, a Romance, and the Quest to Understand Nature’s Most Magnificent Fury (2015). He currently resides on Hawaiʻi Island.

Tell me a little about your background.

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, and attended Graduate school at U of W in aeronautical engineering. I attended Cal Tech for my geophysics degree, and began to study volcanoes in 1980, Mt. St Helens onward. I spent 13 months total at Mt St Helens, then four years at HVO, three years in Naples Italy, and a year in Indonesia, then moved to Hawaiʻi and spent 20 years operating a telescope on top of Mauna Kea...

Interviewer: Tiffany Erickson

April 21, 2016

Danielle Takeshita grew up in Los Angeles, California and wrote 5 Senses while residing on the Big Island, on the slopes of an active volcano with her family, a friendly old dog named Appa, a hyperactive catfish and a very ugly student loan that will enable her to stab people for a living. She has recently moved to Thailand with her husband and is finishing her acupuncture studies.

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Tiffany: Good Afternoon (Friday morning for Danielle in Thailand), I’m here with Danielle Takeshita and we are going over her book 5 Senses. First off, this was a very interesting approach to the senses themselves. This is your first book, yeah?

Danielle: Yes, it is. First published book, independent publishing so it was a learning experience...

by Stephanie Pasco

March 14, 2016

Jane Lasswell Hoff is currently a lecturer in anthropology at Hawaii Community College in Hilo. She was born in Hollywood, California, and spent most of her childhood in Southern California. Hoff attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for her undergraduate degree and continued onto her graduate studies at University of Oregon where she met her beloved husband, Charles Jay Hoff. Not only is she a professional forensic anthropologist, this adventurous woman is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Throughout Hoff’s time as a professional forensic anthropologist, she has worked for the U.S. government in the states of Alabama, Florida, Hawai‘i, Mississippi, Washington, and Utah. Hoff’s hobbies consist of writing mystery novels featuring forensic anthropology, as well as illustrating.

by Misty Nagata

March 14, 2016

A sense of calm and humble serenity envelops you as the first chords are strummed.  As I close my eyes I can feel the cool, clean and pure air of ka makani o Kohala as it lifts the smell of pīkake and plumeria to us.  The newly mowed grass mixed with the morning dew that has been stirred by the air penetrates the sunshine and mingles with the music coming from my CD player.  As Uncle John’s voice begins, “Kʻauhuhu Homestead, where I grew up where I was raised, I can still see visions of those carefree filled with fun days, Kaʻauhuhu Homestead, where my family used to play, sweet memories, of Kaʻauhuhu Homestead…” I am home.

by John Crommelin

March 14, 2016

Dr. Taupōuri Tangarō was born on Oʻahu and lived in Koʻolaupoko from infancy to 11 years of age. In 1974, Tangarō moved to the ahupuaʻa of Waiākea, Hilo. This is where he began his lifelong journey into hula, and at age 19 he joined Hālau O Kekuhi. He has since founded his own hālau, UNUKUPUKUKUPU (Shrine of Ferns [Rooted in Fresh Lava]), which serves as a foundation to teach the hula degree at Hawaiʻi Community College.

by Nan Davis

March 16, 2016

I first met Manu Meyer as a professor in the Education Department at University of Hawaiʻi Hilo, while doing my Master’s degree in education.  She has been a friend, mentor and great inspiration to me.  She received her doctorate degree from Harvard University (Ed.D. 1998).  She has written articles on indigenous culture, education and epistemology published in the United States, Aotearoa and China.  I had the opportunity for an interview with Dr. Meyer over the Internet.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born on the island of Oʻahu and raised in Mokapu, Kailua and Hilo One.

by Ileana Loando

April 11, 2016

Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior was Mark Panek’s second non-fiction book publication, in 2011. This was after the publication of Gaijin Yokozuna in 2006, which is also a work of non-fiction. Most recently he’s published a novel called Hawaiʻi, which was in 2013. Big Happiness received The 2012 Hawaiʻi Book Publisher’s Association’s Award. Mark Panek is a graduate from Colby College and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He has been awarded The University of Hawaiʻi Regent Medal for excellence in teaching in 2008 and The Elliot Cades Award for Literature in 2013. He is now a University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo professor who teaches Modern Grammar, Non-fiction, and Advanced Fiction classes.

Author Interview by Everett McKee

March 18, 2015

Jamaica Osorio is a PhD student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She studied Race and Ethnicity Studies at Stanford University and has a Masters in Arts Politics from New York University. She is also most notable for her long history of poetry composition and performance. The work that had fascinated me the most was a poem Osorio had composed entitled 1893. This piece was a very sensitive topic about the lack of native Hawaiian willpower to have a voice against oppression of their culture.

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Q: What was it like  writing this piece?

A: A complete blackout moment.

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Q: What draws your emotions in this piece?

A: Its really about speaking from my Hawaiian ancestry...

by Zoe Banfield

March 20, 2015

Frankie Bow is the author of the brand new Musubi Murder Mystery Series which takes place in a collegiate setting on the island of Hawaiʻi. The first of the series, The Musubi Murder, is a quirky and riotous tale of suspense that features protagonist Molly Barda, untenured business professor and accidental sleuth, as she and her cohorts, professors Patrick Flanagan and Emma Nakamura, work as a team to solve the strange murder of the maligned and contemptible, late Jimmy Tanaka...

Interview by Kawehiokaiulani Hanohano

March 17, 2015

Mark T. Panek, originally from New York and a graduate of Colby College, first arrived in Hawaiʻi over 20 years ago on a one-way ticket with $500 and a surfboard. A year later he stepped off the plane in Tokyo similarly underfunded in search of fame, fortune, and fluency in Japanese.  His subsequent ventures eventually led him back to the islands and into a graduate program in creative writing at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.  This is where he produced his first book entitled Gaijin Yokozuna, a biography of Hawaiian sumo champion Akebono, which the Japan Times has called "the best sumo biography in English." His second book, Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior, won the 2012 Hawai'i Book Publisher's Association's award for excellence in nonfiction. Panek’s most recent piece and debut novel, Hawai'i, has been called "our Bonfire of the Vanities" by the Honolulu Weekly...

Interview by Graysen Christopher

March 19, 2015

Austin Aslan is the author of The Islands at the End of the World, published in 2014 by Random House Children’s Books. Austin graduated from the University of Arizona in 2000 with a degree in Wildlife Biology. After graduation he was an EMT for a year before joining the Peace Corps for three years in Honduras. Once he returned, he lived in Oregon and then California until 2011. This is when he moved to Hilo, Hawaiʻi. In 2012 Austin received a master’s degree in Tropical Conservation Biology from University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. While living in Hilo, he began work on The Islands at the End of the World...

Author Interview by Ariel Moniz

March 14, 2015

Seri Luangphinith is an accomplished writer and professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. I had the pleasure of interviewing her after reading some of her work in the book that she edited, titled Ku Kilakila: Writing from the Big Island, a compilation of poems and short stories which she put together for those who wish to read creative pieces about Hawai‘i as written by the people who are lucky enough to live here...

An Author Interview by Kainoa Rosa

March 19, 2015

Kerri Inglis is an associate professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and specializes in studying the history of Leprosy in Hawai‘i.  She received a doctorate of philosophy in history from UH Mānoa.  Inglis has logged in extensive hours of research on the Kalaupapa peninsula on Molokaʻi.  This experience allowed her a firsthand perspective and gave new insights to her findings.  Inglis also has recently published  Ma‘i Lepera: Disease and Displacement in 19th Century Hawai‘i (UH Press)...

by Nicholas Pullaro

March 12, 2015

Roy Kodani is a native of Hilo, and was raised and educated on the rainy side of the big island back when sugar was king and the plantations shaped the society that was known in those times. He graduated from Hilo High School, learning English grammar in Latin and pursued his education in the mainland Lafayette College in Eastern Pennsylvania. He was inspired there by his English and literature professors...

Interview by Apollo Harris

March 16, 2015

Piper Selden is the author of Crazy Rain, a story about heavy rains in Hawaii that was published in 2003. She is a teacher of beginning composition at Hawaii Community College.

Q: What is the meaning behind the conflict with the husband?

A: I left it open so that the reader could make meaning out of it. Sometimes I like to give a tease. I don’t like the type of writing that spoon feeds the reader. I try to make space in every story for insight. You mention something and you allow the reader to make meaning without saying “this is it”. Then it might mean something different to you than to an old man or someone who is forty-five...

by Ashley Spencer

March 12, 2015

Pamela Walton is a poet from Waimea. She moved to Hawaiʻi in the early 1990s and immediately felt moved by the natural beauty of the island. She has ten poems published on poetry.com, some of which have been included in anthologies published by the website...