Kalaupapa in Ka Wai Ola

KaWaiOla0913The Kepakemapa (September) issue of OHA’s newsmonthly Ka Wai Ola features a review of Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory with material from an interview with author Anwei Skinsnes Law, who has dedicated over forty years to researching and documenting the lives of Kalaupapa residents. An accompanying sidebar on other recent books on Kalaupapa includes Ma‘i Lepera: Disease and Displacement in Nineteenth-Century Hawai‘i by Kerri Inglis. Check out pages 22-23 of Ka Wai Ola by clicking here or link to the complete issue.

As the international coordinator for IDEA – International Association for Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement, Ms. Law will soon be attending the 18th International Leprosy Congress in Belgium. UPDATE 9/10/13: Professor Inglis will also be attending the leprosy congress.

March 2013 Author Events #3: Kerri Inglis (Ma‘i Lepera)

Kerri Inglis at KalaupapaTwo book launches are scheduled this month for UH Hilo associate professor of history Kerri A. Inglis — one in Honolulu and one in Hilo. Her newly published work, Ma‘i Lepera: Disease and Displacement in Nineteenth-Century Hawai‘i, sheds light on the Kānaka Maoli who contracted leprosy and were sent to the remote peninsula traditionally known as Makanalua, on Molokai’s northern shore. The book offers compelling evidence of how the disease and its treatment altered Hawaiian perceptions and changed the way Kānaka Maoli viewed themselves—affecting their connections to each other, their families, their islands, and their nation.

Both events are free and open to all interested in attending the talk/signing. Books will be available for purchase and complimentary refreshments will be provided.

Inglis-MaiLepera-NativeBksFriday, March 15, 2013
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Native Books/Na Mea Hawai‘i
Join us at the newly renovated shop at the ‘ewa end of Ward Warehouse.

Thursday, March 21, 2013
12:30 to 2:00 p.m.
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Campus Center 301
The event is part of the monthly UHH English Department Brown Bag series of public discussions.

Next month Professor Inglis will also sign books on Wednesday, April 3, 1:00 p.m. at Basically Books in Hilo, as part of the store’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Merrie Monarch Festival. 

Disease and Displacement in Nineteenth-Century Hawaii

Mai LeperaMai Lepera: Disease and Displacement in Nineteenth-Century Hawaii, by Kerri A. Inglis, attempts to recover Hawaiian voices at a significant moment in Hawai‘i’s history. It takes an unprecedented look at the Hansen’s disease outbreak (1865–1900) almost exclusively from the perspective of “patients,” ninety percent of whom were Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian). Using traditional and nontraditional sources, published and unpublished, it tells the story of a disease, a society’s reaction to it, and the consequences of the experience for Hawai‘i and its people.

February 2013 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3635-1 / $24.00 (PAPER)