HAWAIIAN WOMEN POETS GIVE VOICE TO THEIR VISION OF HAWAII

A handful of Hawaiian women will voice their vision of Hawaii’s future using poetry at a special Maui event.  “Remembering Roots & Envisioning Future” features five poets including, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, who is the winner of the international poetry slam competition and recited her poetry at the White House in May.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY7fWlmE-0g[/youtube]

(Video Courtesy: youtube.com & www.whitehouse.gov)

The event will take place on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 6 p.m. in the McCoy Studio Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.

Osorio joins mater poets Tamara Wong-Morrison, Mahealani Perez-Wendt, and Puanani Burgess Ho’opio DeCambra.

The five will recite their poems, giving voice to both universal insights and the specificity of being Hawaiian.

For centuries, Hawaiian literature was recorded in memory through mele oli, or chanted poems.  All aspects of daily life-past and present-were contained in the poetic language of chant.  Today poets in Hawaii write and perform in English, Hawaiian, and Pidgin, maintaining Hawaiian themes and traditional metaphors. Weaving strands of languages and influences together, they create a unique art that has become an enduring symbol of Hawaii.

For tickets and information, contact the Maui Arts & Cultural Center at 242-SHOW (7469).

Sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the county of Maui Office of Economic Development Product Enrichment Program and Ala Kukui / Hana Retreat.

(Posted by Wendy Osher, Information provided by the Maui Arts & Cultural Center)

Image Courtesy: Maui Arts & Cultural Center