Windward Community College鈥檚 language arts faculty will read from their published books as part of a free Out Loud! In the Library event on March 29, 5–7 p.m. in the Hale Laʻakea Library. The public is invited as part of the college鈥檚 50th anniversary celebration.

The literary event will also be available free on Zoom at , Meeting ID: 965 9574 1994.

Robert Barclay will read from his novel Bastards in the Wilderness. He is a professor and serves as language arts department chair. Barclay is a father, teacher, writer, publisher, filmmaker and trail runner who lives in Kāneʻohe, 贬补飞补颈鈥榠.

Barclay will also present the three literary winners of Windward CC鈥檚 2023 Pueo Literary and Arts Journal.

Desi Poteet will read from her fiction book The Grace of Dark Times. As an assistant professor, Poteet encourages her students to discover and honor their unique voices as storytellers. She lives in Punaluʻu where she pursues characters through the corridors of her imagination and dances joyfully with her muses.

Adrienne Robillard will read from her memoir Maps and Tapes. Robillard has been teaching English at Windward CC since 2019. Robillard moved from Kailua to Fresno, Calif. in the 7th grade, changing her view of the world, herself and her future. She began her teaching career at Berkeley City College but left to tour the U.S. and UK as the singer/guitarist of a San Francisco based indie rock band. Maps and Tapes chronicles her musical journey.

Zack Payne will read poetry from his book Beyond Heroin. Payne is a poet and translator, who teaches Spanish at Windward CC. As a translator, he has worked with Rafael Cadenas, Pablo Guevara, Leopoldo Maria Panero and the beat poet, Bob Kaufman. As a poet, he has also published Robos, Setas & Sombras and Termites: the illegal occupation of paradise and Beyond Heroin.

Out Loud in the Library! is a literary and music event celebrating the rich intersection of words and music by local artists meant to inspire and encourage students to find their own creative voice through writing, reading, poetry, music, spoken word and the visual arts.

For more information, contact Susan St. John, assistant professor of language arts and Out Loud in the Library! coordinator at (808) 236-9226 or susankcl@hawaii.edu.

A language arts associate professor from garnered an award at the 2019 Ka Palapala Poʻokela Book Awards.

Eric Paul Shaffer鈥檚 seventh volume of poetry, Even Further West, received honorable mention in the “Aloha from Across the Sea” category. The awards recognize work published in 2017 and 2018, and are administered by the Hawaiʻi Book Publishers Association. A total of 71 entries from 54 separate book projects were nominated in 11 categories.

“These poems are of a singular consciousness attending to the life around him with mindfulness and unsentimental appreciation,” said one of the three judges. “A master craftsman, Eric Paul Shaffer can turn the stuff of everyday Hawaiʻi life into the liturgy of our Island soul. His dedication to ‘making it new’ and even-tempered outlook offers the reader a crystal-clear view of Hawaiʻi landscapes and perspectives.”

“I am a great proponent of place-based education, and the poems of Even Further West focus exclusively on Hawaiʻi as a means of exploring our place and grounding myself in the islands,” said Shaffer. “In the classroom, with place-based education, I interweave Hawaiian culture and language and themes of sustainability in a three-pronged approach to learning and teaching our students about where we are and how that affects who we are.”

Shaffer has authored seven collections of poetry and one novel, Burn & Learn: Memoirs of the Cenozic Era (2009). His work has appeared in more than 500 national and international reviews, journals and magazines and have earned multiple awards.

Interim Chancellor Karen Lee said, “We are proud of Dr. Shaffer for this well-deserved recognition. He represents one of the many highly talented faculty at Honolulu Community College who provide students with an engaging learning environment where they can thrive.”

Other Honolulu Community College faculty have received Ka Palapala Poʻokela Book Awards in previous years. Associate Professor Brenda Kwon won honorable mention for The Sum of Breathing in the “Literature” category in 2015. Assistant Professor Chris McKinney won the Award of Excellence twice for the Red-Headed Hawaiian in 2015 and Boi No Good in 2013.

unveiled its new language arts and humanities multi-purpose room which will be used for musical theatre, acting, band, orchestra, jazz ensemble, creative media and dance.

“I would like to have this facility be a vehicle for taking music, drama, theatre and dance to the next level at Kauaʻi CC,” said Music Professor Gregory Shepherd, who serves as the room鈥檚 coordinator and was instrumental in designing the versatile arts venue.

In addition to the multi-purpose room, three offices and a new security office were renovated through the $2.9 million project.

“This project will definitely serve to support our students,” said Helen Cox, chancellor for Kauaʻi CC. “Our security office will now be centrally located, and our arts and music courses will enjoy the space for decades to come. In addition, the space is large and flexible enough to meet the needs of many campus functions.”

New facility blessed

Students, faculty, staff and guests gathered at the blessing of the new multi-purpose room in late October.

Hawaiian Studies Instructor Pua Rossi鈥檚 hula and chant performance students opened the occasion with ʻoli and hula. Maile lei draped the entrance as Rev. Wayne Vidinha Sr. of Ke Akua Mana Church conducted the blessing, and students from Shepherd鈥檚 beginning and intermediate voice classes filled the air with song.

Brandon Shimokawa, Kauaʻi CC vice chancellor for administrative services, credited the 东精影业 Community Colleges system office with immense support. He said Michael Unebasami and Denise Yoshimori-Yamamoto were instrumental in securing the funding; Cara Kimura served as project manager and Patrick Watase was the onsite coordinator and provided construction management for the project.

Lloyd Higa, of YFH Architects Inc. on Oʻahu was the architect of the project, and Nathan Konishi of Pacific Blue Construction LLC on Kauaʻi served as general contractor.

“This is a project that has been in the works for a long time,” said Shimokawa. “I am very grateful to everyone who made this a reality for the college.”

—By Camilla Matsumoto

Eric Paul Shaffer, a professor at , recently published a collection of poems entitled .

A Million-Dollar Bill is a poem included in the book, which Shaffer made the chosen title piece because it was well received and expressed many of the themes of the volume. The poem is based on a North Carolina Wal-Mart incident—a man attempted to purchase goods with a million dollar bill of his own design and he was arrested and charged. Intrigued and astonished, Shaffer drafted A Million-Dollar Bill presenting a speaker in that situation trying to explain himself.

“I read and write poetry because poems explain our values to us, measure out life in lines that we can examine one at a time and allow us to experience the worlds of many other people to see what they values and whether we agree,” said Shaffer. “I seek the significance in ordinary moments and try to focus the wisdom in those mementos on a page so that people can better regard and consider what they see every day.”

“Because of my A Million-Dollar Bill readings, I have met many more wonderful people who are as enthusiastic about reading and about reading poetry as I am.聽One of the very best results of publishing this book has been renewing my interaction and community with my audience,” said Shaffer.

A Million-Dollar Bill highlights

• The book contains some of Shaffer’s favorite poems, in particular, Watermelon Seeds, The Word-Swallower, Man Overboard, How I Lost My Library Card, The Godzilla Delusion and Illumination.
• Every poem in this volume has been previously published in a review, journal, or magazine nationally or internationally.
• The book’s back cover features a poem, which the author believes will make readers more likely to open the book.

A Million-Dollar Bill is available at and .

More about Eric Paul Shaffer

Shaffer is the author of five books of poetry including Lāhaina Noon; Living at the Monastery, Working in the Kitchen听补苍诲听Portable Planet. More than 400 of his poems have appeared in more than 200 local, national and international reviews.

He has received a number of local literary awards, including the 2002 Elliot Cades Award, a 2006 Ka Palapala Poʻokela Book Award for聽Lāhaina Noon and the 2009 James M. Vaughan Award for Poetry.

—By Aviana Finn

Native Hawaiian Writing and Arts website, , was selected as a finalist for 2013 Best New Blogs Awards. The students and faculty involved were delighted by achieving a seventh place in the national initiative.

The website presents creative work of Native Hawaiian artists, writers, creators and producers in written pieces, videos and audio recordings.

Leeward CC Professor Pat Kamalani Hurley created the website last spring to publish the creative work from the , and to establish a creative place for students, faculty and community members.

• GET INVOLVED:

With a goal to encourage students to express themselves in both English and Hawaiian languages, the Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo awards program is supported by Leeward’s Language Arts Division and Student Life.

“Both the awards program and Pūpū focus on na mea Hawaiʻi—anything Native Hawaiian,” said Hurley. “I am proud that Pūpū was nominated for a best blog of the year. We didn’t win, but it was an honor for our students to get some well-deserved recognition.”

Hurley and her volunteers spend countless hours in making the creative pieces come alive. ”If the work is art and in the Hawaiian language, then we like to include audio recordings so that visitors who speak Hawaiian can enjoy the moʻolelo and so that those who don驶t speak Hawaiian can hear what the language sounds like,” Hurley said.

Hurley also produces short, rather informal bios where the contributors talk about themselves and their work. “Videos help to make what could be a static, boring website into something pretty special,” she said. “The students never fail to charm.”

“I like to think that both the Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo awards and Pūpū A ʻO ʻEwa are innovative in supporting Leeward CC’s mission statement of addressing the needs of Native Hawaiians,” Hurley said. “This project helps me to meet my kuleana of supporting my fellow Hawaiians while contributing to the campus I love.”

For more information, .