I’m interested in finding out if anyone with any indigenous Hawaiian blood is writing about the islands in a meaningful, literary way. I know publishers are trying to dictate what writers should write to increase sales, but is there anyone out there in Hawaii who really cares about the Hawaiian people and is bringing out their stories? I suppose the writer would have to know Hawaiian fairly well and use it in the text of the book. I can’t seem to find anything on the web, so maybe you can help. Mahalo.
Well, the book critic @ the biggest daily newspaper out of Honolulu believes that ‘best writer’ is KIRBY WRIGHT. And who am I to disagree. Wright peppers his work with authentic Hawaiian words and also the local creole called ‘pidgin English.’ I was able to access his work online, which included chapters from his latest novel set on the island of Molokai—this is absolutely literary stuff, with pages devoted to the interior world of the narrator and a cool dreamscape. This writer is also a poet and his poem “Aloha, Lili’uokalani” appeared at the Queen’s statue during the 10-year anniversary of the overthrow of her monarchy by Dole and Thurston. It’s apparent Wright cares about the Hawaiian people.