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NĀ Puke • BooKs
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New book reprises candor of
late Hawaiian poet
WESTLAKE: Poems by Wayne Kaumuali'i
Edited by Mei-Li M. Siy and Richard Hamasaki
University of Hawai'i Press
By Liza Simon / Ka Wai Ola
Think Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s and what readily comes to mind is the reinvigoration of mele and hula – not the literary arts. But the consciousness-raising events of the time such as the swell of opposition to development and the bombing of Kaho'olawe fired up the imaginations of a small but audacious circle of local writers – among them the late poet Wayne Kaumuali'i Westlake, a charismatic figure who was grounded his own Native Hawaiian heritage as well as a sophisticated knowledge of ancient Chinese literary tradition and a passion for the polemics of avant-garde "beat writers" – the forerunners of today's rappers. Drawing on these global influences, Westlake captured the spirit of Hawai'i with writing that is irreverent, satirical and profound.
When Westlake died in a 1984 car accident, his literary colleague Richard Hamasaki initially despaired of ever getting Westlake's poetry to a reading audience. "He was so before his time in the way he took so many risks in standing up for his beliefs that he rarely got published," said Hamasaki, noting this didn't stop Westlake from helping other local writers, often pitting himself against University of Hawai'i academics who seized public arts funding to highlight writers from the U.S. continent, thus ignoring the burgeoning indigenous literature coming from natives of newly independent Pacific nations such as Fiji and New Guinea.
About a decade ago, Hamasaki had a lucky find: the deceased poet's one-time partner Mei-Li Siy entrusted him with Westlake's manuscripts kept stored inside a Hawai'i Island shed. "Termites had eaten through paper but left ink alone," said Hamasaki, who organized and edited the scattered pieces into Westlake: Poems, a comprehensive collection of his friend's work.
To celebrate the posthumous release of the book, Hamasaki has organized a reading of Westlake's work to be presented by several noted Pacific writers who comprise a literary vanguard, with a growing worldwide prominence – something Westlake had visualized.
Hamasaki said the new book conveys that Westlake's presence in contemporary Pacific literature is utterly unique – equally accessible to the masses as to intellectuals.
A graduate of Punahou, where he was a football standout, Westlake went on to the University of Oregon, where he immersed himself in studies of classical Chinese literature, explained Hamasaki, adding that Westlake initially did not reveal much of his Hawaiian side. "Being born in the 1940s, Westlake knew his culture as something that was suppressed. But I think what happened, ironically, is that Wayne connected so strongly to Taoist philosophy in Chinese writing so similar to the ancient Hawaiian kahuna way of looking at the world. This was his way of circling back to his Hawaiian identity in a very powerful and traditional manner," said Hamasaki.
Praising Westlake's ability to compress both strident political protest and a haunting pathos into a few short lines, Hamasaki said Westlake saw poetry as a way to combat the hypocrisy of the modern world. "We throw around phrases like 'aloha 'āina' without too much thought to their meaning, but Wayne – with his Taoist influence and his love of Hawaiian oral tradition percolating just beneath the surface, embraced simplicity but with layered meanings on what the human dilemma is all about."
Book launch
Program features the following musicians and poets: Michael Puleloa (emcee), H. Doug Matsuoka (DJ), Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri, Haunani-Kay Trask, Robert Sullivan, Lee Tonouchi, Ku'ualoha Ho'omanawanui of Kuleana 'Ōiwi Press, state Sen. Russell Kokubun (Wayne's good friend since middle school at Punahou), Kathryn Takara, Sage U'ilani Takehiro with FAT ULU, Brandy McDougall of Kahuaomānoa Press, Steve Rosenthal, Richard Hamasaki and other contributing artists. |
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