poetry

Jordyn Imig of Hanalani Schools will be among more than 160,000 students nationwide to compete in this year's poetry recitation contest. Her delivery of Dana Gioia's "Becoming a Redwood" dubbed Imig the 2024 Hawaiʻi Poetry Out Loud champion. HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports.

Hawai’i poet Joseph Stanton spoke with The Conversation about his latest book, “Lifeline: Poems for Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper.”

Guam native Craig Santos Perez is the first Pacific Islander to win the prestigious National Book Award for Poetry — and the first Pacific Islander to win in any category. The Conversation's Catherine Cruz talked to the author about what that win meant not just to him as a Chamorro, but to a culture often overlooked.

We hana hou recent interviews with local authors and writers with Hawaiʻi ties who have made it on our fall reading list: environmental lawyer Julian Aguon's No Country for 8 Spot Butterflies; Hawaiʻi state poet laureate Brandy Nālani McDougall's ʻĀina Hānau, Birth Land; Big Island native Jasmin Iolani Hakes' Hula; and keiki author Kaylin George's Aloha Everything

Brandy Nālani McDougall from Maui is the first woman selected for the two-year term. The Conversation’s Stephanie Han sat down with McDougall to talk about her plans as the new poet laureate and how poetry is a way to heal.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is producing a "Wordsworth the Poet" musical. It will debut in November. HPR's Jayna Omaye spoke with author Frances Kakugawa.

Noʻu Revilla's first book, "Ask the Brindled," looks at the concept of aloha in the face of colonization and sexual violence. It also highlights intergenerational healing and desire through the Hawaiian moʻo, or shapeshifting water protectors that often appear in lizard form. HPR's Jayna Omaye has more.

Kealoha Wong, who was appointed as Hawaiʻi’s first Poet Laureate in 2012, said much of his passion for teaching youth stems from his own experiences as a teenager. The Academy of American Poets recently awarded him a $50,000 grant to share the power of poetry with students. HPR's Jayna Omaye has more.

Today, we're revisiting the work of local poets we love.

Joseph Stanton is a University of Hawaiʻi art history professor whose talents include writing prose. Stanton spoke to The Conversation about how he turns to the natural world for inspiration.