Bamboo Ridge presents 40th anniversary book, readings, party

This autumn, the local independent, nonprofit Bamboo Ridge Press celebrates its 40th year with readings from its 113th Journal of Hawai‘i Literature and Arts ($20), a 350-page anthology of poetry and prose with a bold, abstract cover marking this four-decade voyage with a compass image by Noe Tanigawa. The vibrant heart of the issue is a color portfolio of Tanigawa’s lovely abstract, mixed-media paintings, many with ocean and garden themes, and an interview with the artist, who reflects on time, direction and the loss of her mother.

Work by two young Hawaii writers, winners of the editors’ choice awards from Gail N. Harada and Lisa Linn Kanae, opens the volume. There’s not a word amiss in Derek N. Otsuji’s compact, subtle yet powerful poems, including a portrait of an uncle who’s lost more than most could bear, yet ushers in each new year with hope and appreciation for luck. The heroine of Lauren K.N. Padilla’s story “Waimaka” is embarrassed to join her school’s paddling team, coached by her Hawaiian mother, because she looks and talks haole like her father. “Everybody just looks at me,” she complains, but later acquires steerswomanship and courage.

Other debuts include Nicholas Becher’s deft, time-shifting story about the tolls of love and creativity, and Nalani Mamoali‘ialapa‘iha‘o Ano’s breathtaking poem about a run over Ka‘iwa Ridge.

Contributions from Bamboo Ridge familiars include Marie Hara’s poem of long-married love, Juliet S. Kono’s unhappy couple hunting an octopus, Christy Passion’s raw cries against harsh diagnoses and family abandonment, and Sylvia Watanabe’s story “From” about children, talent and destiny.

It’s a bit of a shock to find few traces of Hawaii’s plantation vernacular in a journal that made its name and niche celebrating and validating local pidgin. So thank goodness for Ann Inoshita’s poems of local domestic joys, “Plates are fo Food” and “Waipahu Get Everything You Need,” which round out a generous collection that’s diverse and tender in every way one can imagine.

In October, Bamboo Ridge will hold a full-on gala fundraising benefit, including a silent auction, in which who knows? You might find a Tanigawa or two.

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READINGS

All free and open to the public

>> Thursday, 6 p.m., book launch with refreshments, Manoa Public Library, 2716 Woodlawn Drive

>> Sept. 20, 7 p.m., MIA (Mixing Innovative Arts) at The Manifest, 31 North Hotel St.

>> Oct. 10, 11 a.m., Leeward Community College Library, 96-045 Ala Ike

>> Nov. 8, 6 p.m., Windward Community College Library, 45-720 Keaahala Road

BENEFIT GALA

Fundraiser with dinner; readings/talks by Lois-Ann Yama­naka, Lee Cataluna, Lee Tonouchi, Eric Chock, Darrell Lum and Wing Tek Lum; sale and silent auction

>> When: Oct. 20, 5-9 p.m.

>> Where: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, 2454 S. Beretania St.

>> Cost: $100; $40 tax-deductible. Purchase tickets/tables at www.bambooridge.com.

>> Info: brinfo@bambooridge.com