Bamboo Ridge celebrates 25th year of Island poetry, prose
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Books Editor
BAMBOO RIDGE 25th Anniversary Issue, Edited by Eric Chock and Darryl H. Y. Lum; Bamboo Ridge, paper, $15
The 25th anniversary edition of Bamboo Ridge literary magazine — a 500-page collection of more than 90 literary pieces — is a bambucha literary plate lunch: 5-line tanka poem pupu, two scoops narrative, non-fiction essay on the side, big juicy short story, sweet small-kid-time tale for dessert.
Twenty-five years of dedication, experimentation and creation are chronicled in the book's opener: two characteristically amusing, honest and unpretentious poems by Eric Chock and Darryl H.Y. Lum. The pieces make clear how unglamorous and yet not unrewarding are the jobs of these writer/editors' jobs.
• Book launch and reading for Bamboo Ridge 25th Anniversary Issue, 7 p.m. reception, 7:30 p.m. reading, tomorrow, UH-Manoa Campus Center Ballroom. Free. • Photo exhibit, works of cover artist Mary Ann Lynch, "Kalapana, A Hawaiian Place," tomorrow through Sept. 27, Native Books/Na Mea Hawai'i, Ward Warehouse. • Reading, 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 26, Native Books, Na Mea Hawai'i, Ward Warehouse. Free. • Also: Book launch and reading for Juliet S. Kono's "Ho'olu Park and the Pepsodent Smile and other Stories" (Bamboo Ridge, paper, $15), 7 p.m. reception, 7:30 p.m. reading, Oct. 22, UH-Manoa Campus Center Ballroom. • 3rd Bamboo Ridge Writers Institute, "Try Write! Try Write! Try Write!" 9:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Oct. 23, UH-Manoa Campus Center meetings rooms and Kuykendall Hall. Fee. Panel discussions, workshops in a variety of writing styles — scriptwriting, writing for children, writing about culture, plus master workshops (3-hour small group writing sessions) and performances. Information: 626-1481 or go to the Web site. • To order 25th Anniversary Issue (which is also in local bookstores): Send name, address, phone, e-mail, quantity desired, $15 per book plus $5 postage and handling, to Bamboo Ridge Press, P.O. Box 61781, Honolulu, HI 96839-1781. • Web site: www.bambooridge.com.
Writes Chock:
Bamboo Ridge literary Events around town
" ... it is the literature after all,/ the words that we string together and not just the grants/ and awards that we've won, or the prestigious universities/ where we've appeared, and the courses that have included us,/ the writers who have gone on to fame and fortune,/ not too much fortune I don't think/ but no, it's the words that bring us together and tear us apart/ reading yet another poem or story that brings out new feelings/ and isn't that what luv is after twenty-five years."
This edition includes the winners of the Bamboo Ridge 25th Anniversary Writing Contest, judged by two Isle literary lights who have been nurtured by Bamboo Ridge, Lois-Ann Yamanaka and Nora Okja Keller. Also included are selections from the magazine's On-line Master Workshop classes; select photos from the portfolio of cover artist, photographer Mary Ann Lynch; and pieces by writers who almost constitute a who's who of local literature, from Juliet Kono and Wing Tek Lum to Lisa Linn Kanae and Kealoha, as well as lesser knowns.
Among the contest and workshop selections I most enjoyed:
• Tracee H. Lee's three-part poem "Dog/Lamb/Bug," winner of the Best Poetry prize, offering three stream-of-consciousness views of a single incidence of family violence, tracing how abuse is passed on in families.
• Dean H. Honma's Poetry runner-up winner, "Scrapbook," in which the rejection of memories as the fodder of poems actually makes a poem.
• Ryan Senega's Fiction runner-up winner, "More Than You Know," a clever and evocative short story about a life lesson learned.
• Tyler Miranda's Fiction runner-up winner, an excerpt from "The House of Luke," about brothers growing up hard in 'Ewa. If this is a piece of a book, I want to read it.
There is much more to this collection, from the gentle humor of Michael Little's "Walter! Walter!," about a man who finds happiness in an odd place, to the 'oli-like rhythm of Keith Kalani Akana's powerful poem, "Press Down," which urges the reader to become one with the 'aina.
This anthology is a quick toe-dip into the current waters of local literature, an invitation to look further into the work of these writers, and even, perhaps, to add your own work to the stream.
