The Thelma Parker Memorial Public Library in Waimea will host a free Waimea poetry workshop featuring Hawai‘i Poet Laureate Lee Tonouchi.
“Ma-Ke Die Dead: Writing Poetry About Loved Ones Who Stay Gone” is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 27 and is open to participants ages 14 and older. No registration is required, according to the library.
Waimea poetry workshop to explore grief and storytelling
Tonouchi will share his personal writing journey, then invite attendees to create their own poems using his “talk story poetry” approach to honor loved ones who have died.
He lost his mother in a car crash when he was 2, and recalls that his family rarely discussed her death. “Everybody just held in their grief and carried on,” Tonouchi said in a library announcement.
He later found that writing about loss can be healing and can help others feel comfortable sharing their stories.
About Lee Tonouchi
Tonouchi, known as “Da Pidgin Guerilla,” advocates for Pidgin, or Hawai‘i Creole, to be recognized as a legitimate language. “For da past chree decades, it’s been my mission to show local people that dey should be proud of their Pidgin,” he said, adding that the talk story technique helps people discover a poetic voice and represent their communities and experiences.
He received the 2023 American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Public Service Award for raising public awareness of language issues and promoting linguistic social justice.
Tonouchi’s books include the Pidgin poetry collection “Significant Moments in da Life of Oriental Faddah and Son: One Hawai‘i Okinawan Journal,” which won the Association for Asian American Studies Book Award, and the Pidgin children’s picture book “Okinawan Princess: Da Legend of Hajichi Tattoos,” which earned a Skipping Stones Honor Award. His most recent book, “Chiburu: Anthoology of Hawai‘i Okinawan Literature,” was published in 2023.
Tonouchi will serve as Hawai‘i poet laureate through 2029. For more information, call the library at 808-887-6067 or visit the State of Hawaiʻi website.
For more events and activities around the island, see our guide to the top things to do on Big Island.
