Author and teacher Will Kyselka, a key figure in the revival of Polynesian wayfinding who sailed aboard the escort vessel for Hokule‘a on its 1980 voyage, passed away on July 1 at the age of 91. He was a lecturer at the Bishop Museum Planetarium and a retired associate professor at the University of Hawai‘i Curriculum Research & Development Group. Long fascinated with modes of learning, in An Ocean in Mind he told the story of the 1980 journey while exploring how the mind acquires, utilizes, and transmits different forms of knowledge.
Category: Author Events
The ‘Ukulele: A History Book Launch
Jim Tranquada, director of communications at Occidental College in Los Angeles, will visit Honolulu to launch the book he co-wrote with the late John King, The ‘Ukulele: A History, on Saturday, July 21, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., at Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai‘i in Ward Warehouse (‘ewa end, 1050 Ala Moana Boulevard). He will give a short talk and gather family, friends, and ‘ukulele fans to celebrate the book’s publication. Refreshments and kanikapila (informal jam session) will follow his presentation. The public is invited to the free event and encouraged to bring their ‘ukulele to join in the fun.
A former newspaper reporter, Tranquada is a great-great grandson of ‘ukulele pioneer Augusto Dias. John King was widely acknowledged as one of the modern masters of the ‘ukulele.
Tranquada’s visit is timed so he can enjoy the 42nd Annual Ukulele Festival Hawaii on Sunday, July 22 at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand in Waikiki.
UH Press Around the Web
Tom Coffman’s recent biography of Edward Nakamura, I Respectfully Dissent, is enjoying great press in the Hawai‘i media. In addition to Richard Borreca’s piece “New book makes it clear why Nakamura mattered,” the Honolulu Star-Advertiser covered the book in a review by Dave Shapiro:
“If your idealism needs a reboot, read political historian Tom Coffman’s new book I Respectfully Dissent. . . . The book provides a history of the times as well as a biography of the man, following Nakamura through his service in the 442nd, his career as a top labor lawyer, his time as a University of Hawaii regent, his term on the Supreme Court and his ‘retirement’ years as perhaps the most influential critic of the Democratic revolution that had given way to greed and malfeasance. Nakamura was defined by personal modesty, an immense intellect, a true ethical compass and an unwavering belief in democracy in its broadest sense.” (Star-Advertiser subscribers can read the full review here.)
Honolulu Civil Beat’s Chad Blair calls the biography “reverently, warmly and revealingly told”:
“[I]t is a remarkable story. . . . What Coffman has done is to share Nakamura’s story in a fresh, instructive way that reminds Hawaii of, as Lincoln put it, the better angels of our nature. . . . Coffman makes history seem less distant and gives life to a man who may have been forgotten by many.” (Read the full review here.)
Legendary sax man Gabe Baltazar will be performing tonight (Friday, July 6, 6 pm) in the Hawai’i State Art Museum’s A Star-Studded Evening of Jazz. Baltazar will also be signing copies of his autobiography If It Swings, It’s Music:
“Open it on almost any page and it will be difficult to stop reading. Written in conversational style with assistance from music fan Theo Garneau, Baltazar’s book will appeal to several distinct audiences, including jazz fans and longtime Baltazar admirers. His stories of life here in the ’30s and ’40s will fascinate anyone with an interest in what things were like ‘back in the day,’ while another section of the book shares an insiders’ look at the national jazz scene of the ’50s and ’60s.” (Read the full Honolulu Pulse (Star-Advertiser) article here.)
Family Torn Apart Roundtable Discussion
Join Lily Ozaki Arasato for a roundtable discussion of Family Torn Apart: The Internment Story of the Otokichi Muin Ozaki Family on Saturday, June 23, 10:30-11:30 am, at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i’s Community Gallery. Ms. Arasato is the daughter of Otokichi Ozaki, who was a Japanese language school teacher and tanka poet in Hilo. Family Torn Apart traces Ozaki’s WWII incarceration at eight different camps, his family’s life in Hawai‘i without him, and later their move to join Ozaki in the camps.
Family Torn Apart is distributed by UH Press for the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i.
In Memoriam – Helen Geracimos Chapin
Journalist, educator, and author Helen Geracimos Chapin passed away on June 9 in Honolulu. Chapin worked as a news writer at the Honolulu Advertiser and Hilo Herald-Tribune and served as past president of the Honolulu Community-Media Council and the Hawaiian Historical Society. Most recently, she was a professor and vice president at Hawaii Pacific University.
Upcoming Author Events
Victoria Kneubuhl will discuss her two mystery novels, Murder Casts a Shadow and Murder Leaves Its Mark, at the Art Lunch event “The Unfamiliar Familiar, Homegrown Mystery,” hosted by the Hawai‘i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, on Tuesday, May 29, 12-1 pm. For more information, go to http://www.state.hi.us/sfca/HiSAM_Events.html.
Kneubuhl will also discuss writing historical fiction at the Kapolei Library on Saturday, June 2, at 10:30 am. A drawing will be held for autographed copies of Murder Casts a Shadow and Murder Leaves Its Mark. Call 693-7050 for more information.
Victoria Kneubuhl’s books are available as eBooks at Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple’s iBooks Store, and Google Play.
Stuart Ball will be participating in a National Trails Day celebration hosted by the Oahu Na Ala Hele Trails and Access Program at the Lyon Arboretum on Saturday, June 2. Ball will be at the gift shop from 1-3pm to sign copies of his latest book, Native Paths to Volunteer Trails: Hiking and Trail Building on O‘ahu, and his ever-popular The Hikers Guide to O‘ahu: Revised Edition. For more information go to http://ntd2012.blogspot.com/2012/05/hiking-expo-at-lyon-arboretum-full.html.
Stuart Ball’s hiking guides are available as eBooks at Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple’s iBooks Store, and Google Play.
Gabe Baltazar Radio Interview and at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival
Gabe Baltazar Jr, whose autobiography If It Swings, It’s Music was published this month, was interviewed last March by Tucson jazz radio host Jake Feinberg. For some backstory on the interview, go to http://www.bonhawaii.com/legendary-sax-player-gabe-baltazar-worldwide-radio-show; for the interview, go to http://www.jakefeinbergshow.com/2012/03/jfs-65-the-gabe-baltazar-interview/.
Catch Gabe on YouTube reminiscing at this month’s Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival:
- On meeting his idol, Charlie Parker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XcdFbilqfs
- On joining the Stan Kenton Orchestra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agxiO2Gd19c
New Books in Buddhist Studies Podcasts
Listen to New Books Network podcasts featuring interviews with Press authors Hank Glassman, Bryan Cuevas, Lori Meeks, and Daniel Veidlinger: http://newbooksinbuddhiststudies.com/list/. New Books in Buddhist Studies presents discussions with scholars of Buddhism about their new books.
The New Books Network “is a consortium of podcasts dedicated to raising the level of public discourse by introducing serious authors to serious audiences.”
Hyperallergic on The Painted King and the Aim of Public Art
The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai‘i is Glenn Wharton’s account of his efforts to conserve the Big Island’s Kamehameha statue, but it is also the story of his journey to understand the statue’s meaning for the residents of Kapa‘au. The book was the subject of a panel discussion at NYU last March, which was covered by Ben Valentine of the art blog Hyperallergic.
Wharton spoke briefly at the event, followed by invited experts of whom Valentine notes: “One speaker I especially enjoyed was Harriet Senie [professor of art history at CUNY Graduate Center]. Senie reminded the audience that the Lincoln Memorial was made to celebrate Lincoln uniting the union, but now has become a memorial for the end of slavery. A work’s meaning changes with context, and she celebrated Wharton for recognizing this in his conservation of the statue.”
In his book, Wharton sums up the experience: “[It] offered an opportunity for people who had never participated in public dialogue to express their opinions. Some suggested that this gave them experience and confidence to take civic action on issues such as unplanned development.” Valentine concludes: “I think this gets at the core of what much of public art aims to do—to remind us of history, to become a place for community to gather, remember the past and inspire the onlookers of today.”
Read the Hyperallergic post here: http://hyperallergic.com/48103/glenn-wharton-re-painting-a-king/
Stuart Ball at Soul Trex for Book Signing
Stuart Ball will be signing copies of his recently published Native Paths to Volunteer Trails: Hiking and Trail Building on O‘ahu at Windward Mall’s Soul Trex on Saturday, May 12, 1-3 pm.
The Painted King Wins Historic Hawaii Preservation Award
The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai‘i, by Glenn Wharton, will be among the books receiving this year’s Historic Hawai‘i Foundation Preservation Media Award.
The award ceremony will be held on Friday, May 11, 2012, at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu in the Pīkake Room at 4:00 pm. A reception will follow the presentation program. Tickets to the awards ceremony may be purchased for $45 each (HHF members) or $60 (general admission). Visit http://www.historichawaii.org/ for more information.
2012 Ka Palapala Pookela Awards
The annual Ka Palapala Po‘okela Awards, presented by the Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association, honor Hawai‘i’s best books, authors, and illustrators. This year’s award ceremony will be held on Friday, May 11, 2012, at 6 pm, at Bishop Museum’s Atherton Halau. A reception and book signing will follow at 7:30 pm., in the museum’s Hawaiian Hall Atrium and Courtyard.
Tickets are $25 and include heavy pupu buffet and cocktails, gourmet chocolate truffles by Choco le‘a, and entertainment by Ka ‘Eha. Book sale and author signing proceeds to benefit Bishop Museum. Tickets can be purchased at Native Books/Na Mea Hawai‘i at Ward Warehouse (596-8885). For more information, email [email protected].
This year’s UH Press nominees are:
Links to the Past: The Work of Early Hawaiian Artisans, by Wendy S. Arbeit
(Excellence in Hawaiian Culture, Excellence in Text or Reference, Excellence in Special Interest)
Backstage in a Bureaucracy: Politics and Public Service by Susan Chandler and Richard C. Pratt
(Excellence in Nonfiction)
No Nā Mamo: Traditional and Contemporary Hawaiian Beliefs and Practices by Malcolm Nāea Chun
(Excellence in Hawaiian Culture, Excellence in Nonfiction, Excellence in Design)
Hawaiian Surfing: Traditions from the Past by John R. K. Clark
(Excellence in Hawaiian Culture, Excellence in Text or Reference, Excellence in Nonfiction, Excellence in Design)
Conservation of Pacific Sea Turtles by Peter Dutton, Dale Squires, and Mahfuzuddin Ahmed
(Excellence in Natural Science)
Fighting in Paradise: Labor Unions, Racism, and Communists in the Making of Modern Hawai‘i by Gerald Horne
(Excellence in Nonfiction)
Murder Leaves Its Mark by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl
(Excellence in Literature)
People and Cultures of Hawai‘i: The Evolution of Culture and Ethnicity edited by John F. McDermott and Naleen Naupaka Andrade
(Excellence in Text or Reference)
I Ulu I Ke Kumu: The Hawai‘inuiākea Monograph edited by Puakea Nogelmeier
(Excellence in Hawaiian Culture)
Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior by Mark Panek
(Excellence in Nonfiction)
Shore Fishes of Easter Island by John E. Randall and Alfredo Cea
(Excellence in Natural Science)
Living Spirit: Literature and Resurgence in Okinawa edited by Frank Stewart and Katsunori Yamazato
(Excellence in Literature)
Waves of Resistance: Surfing and History in Twentieth-Century Hawai‘i by Isaiah Helekunihi Walker
(Excellence in Nonfiction, Excellence in Design)