Storied Landscapes

"Storied Landscapes: Hawaiian Literature and Place" contains six essay about places in Hawai'i and traditional stories and chants of gods and people associated with them: the fishing gods of Hana, Maui; the owl and shark gods of Honolulu; the voyaging chiefs of Kane'ohe Bay, on the windward side of O'ahu; the cannibal king of central O'ahu; the water god of Nihoa, in Papahanaumokuakea (the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands); and Kaluaiko'olau and Pi'ilani, a husband and wife who lived in Kalalau Valley on Kaua'i in the 19th century.From "Sense of Place," a review by Stu Dawrs, Honolulu Weekly. Vol 9, No. 45, Nov. 17-23, 1999: Writing about his search for information on the fishing deity Ku'ula-kai in the opening piece of his six-essay book, Kawaharada lays the groundwork for Storied Landscapes: "Where were the spirits of the land? Was it possible to claim to know, to be a part of, to dwell comfortably in a place without honoring ancestral spirits and traditions which humanize every landscape?"For Kawaharada, this process of honoring is a wide-ranging one, taking on many forms. The opening piece, "A Search for Ku'ula-kai," centers on a personal narrative involving Kawaharada's family history on Maui and O'ahu, along with his father's love of fishing. In the process of telling that story, the author covers a variety of matters, including historical, geographical and religious aspects of Hawaiian fishing deities, and the ecological havoc wreaked by modern commercial fishing techniques.In a scant 112 pages, Kawaharada manages to cover much, from a geographical/historical/legendary tour of the Manoa/Mo'ili'ili area to a scathing deconstruction of Jack London's "Ko'olau The Leper." On more than one level, his ability to draw from a wide range of well-documented sources is one of the true values of his book. On the straightforward, academic plain, the book's bibliography covers a wide swath of essential ground. Beyond that, though, the overall sense one gets from reading "Storied Landscapes" is one of deeper meanings and an interconnectedness of names and places that we might otherwise take for granted. In that sense, the book plants the seeds of a lifetime's challenge for its readers: To take an active role in learning about the land, to celebrate the myths that humanize, and to incorporate those myths into a daily existence - not just culturally, but economically and politically - that meshes more completely with life on these islands.From "Legends and living color of the Islands," a review by Charlene Luke, Honolulu Advertiser, October 9, 1999: "Storied Landscapes" contrasts moral values with the ideas of mortal men. It blends fact with fiction, letting you pick and choose to form your own opinion. And it mixes Hawaiian landscapes with ancient legends.From a heartfelt firsthand encounter, Kawaharada humanizes the face of Kalaupapa, offering words that soften nearly a century of infamy and segregation. He examines our fears and gives us facts and figures that help put things into perspective. Once you've digested all the qualitative and quantitative data with which Kawaharada surrounds these Hawaiian landscapes, you'll never view the Islands' landmarks quite the same way again.