Workshops bring together arts, environment and culture

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

In nature, diversity helps to assure survival. Same principal applies in the communal, intellectual space of humans.

An egret chases dragonflies in a taro patch in Punalu'u. In a series of workshops, readings and other events on O'ahu and the Big Island, writers join community members to look at issues facing Hawai'i's land, language and people. Advertiser library photos

Described as "a celebration of place through writing, the arts and malama 'aina" (caring for the land), the tour stops in O'ahu tomorrow through Thursday, and the Big Island Friday through Sunday.

"We really don't know what to expect," said Maile Meyer, one of the event organizers. "We're just trying to create some dialogue between a diverse group of people, not just have the same group of people saying the same things."

Presenters include kumu hula Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele and Maui-based, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin, as well as visiting, nationally known environmental and nature writers Annick Smith ("In This We Are Native"), William Kittredge ("Southwestern Homelands"), Richard Nelson ("Heart and Blood: Living with Deer in America"), David Abram ("The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World") and Robert Michael Pyle ("Where Bigfoot Walks"). Other participants include community leaders Peter Adler and Puanani Burgess, futurist Jim Dator, legislator Mina Morita, Hawai'i Tourism Authority director Rex Johnson and cultural practitioner Sam Gon.

The series is sponsored locally by the Pacific Writers Connection and the Hawai'i Island Writers Association, and by the Orion Society, a national literary, educational and environmental organization that publishes Orion magazine.

Meyer said the idea for the series came partially from a local meeting of businessmen and writers a year ago ("there were guys with Reyn's aloha shirts sitting next to people with body piercings," she recalled) and from Orion's concept of a "Forgotten Language Tour."

Given its various cultural histories and its diverse natural environment, Hawai'i seemed a natural stop for the "Forgotten Language Tour," which has held events in 32 states over the past decade. But, as organizers strongly note, Hawai'i is a decidedly unique environment. Thus, a name change was in order.

With Orion's agreement, the Hawai'i tour was renamed to acknowledge the fact that the "language of the land," while perhaps not widely spoken, is not yet forgotten in Hawai'i.

Fees are $60 for both islands or $35 for one island. Field trips are an additional $15 each. For more information or to register, call 841-2447.

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Public readings Wednesday — David Abram, William Kittredge, Richard Nelson, Annick Smith. 7 p.m., Paliku Theater, Windward Community College Thursday — Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele, W.S. Merwin, Robert Michael Pyle. 7 p.m., Halau Haumea, Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai'i-Manoa Friday — Featured writers. 7 p.m., Kilauea Theater Sunday — Featured writers. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Kilauea Military Camp Other tour activities • O'ahu Wednesday — Field trips to Kawai Nui Marsh, Kihei Pua (Windward Community College lo'i), Kupuka'a Lo'i, Waiahole Mauka Lo'i, and He'eia Loko I'a (fishpond) Thursday — Discussions on "Sustainable Islands" • Big Island Friday — Field trips to Mauna Kea, Waipi'o Valley, Hokuli'a, Kilauea Volcano, Makali'i Voyaging Canoe, and the forests of Keauhou; health and healing workshops Saturday — Workshops by visiting writers as well as sessions on screenwriting, poetry, children's books, free-lancing, online publishing and other writing topics in conjunction with Hawai'i Island Writers Association's 3rd Annual Writers' Conference