Playwright Jon Shirota, considered one of the most important writers to come out of the Asian American community, is in Hawaii.
His play, “Voices from Okinawa,” is being staged at Kumu Kahua Theatre in downtown Honolulu.
Shirota will give a talk, “Akisamiyo! From a Pig Farmer to a Writer,” 5–6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9 at UH-West Oahu, beginning with a reception at 4 p.m.
The free event is part of the Chancellor’s Lecture Series and is co-sponsored by the UHM Center for Okinawan Studies.
A Celebration of Jon Shirota takes place 7-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 at the Ohia Cafeteria, Kapiolani Community College.
The Okinawan community will be thanking and honoring Jon with music and dance.
According to the event’s presenters, Shirota was born in Peahi, Maui, in 1928. His father immigrated to Hawai‘i from Ginoza Village, Okinawa, in 1907, and his mother immigrated from Kanna Village in 1910. Upon graduating from Brigham Young University in Utah, he worked as a U.S. Treasury agent.
In 1963, he was invited to the Handy Writers’ Colony, where he completed “Lucky Come Hawaii,” the first of his three published novels. His plays have been produced in Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo. He has received awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, the American College Theater Festival, the Los Angeles Actors Theater Festival of One Acts, the Los Angeles County Cultural Affairs Department, and the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and National Endowment for the Arts.
At 9 p.m., Shirota will be available to sign his books, “Lucky Come Hawaii” or “Voices from Okinawa.” Copies of “Voices from Okinawa” ($20) will be on sale that night.
Get more information about the new title at http://manoaokinawaissue.wordpress.com.
To pre-order a bento and water from Off the Wall ($8), provide full name, order and phone number to pigsfromthesea@gmail.com or 734.9562 by 5 p.m. Nov. 11.