''Bamboo Ridge'' (in full ''Bamboo Ridge: Journal of Hawai'i Literature and Arts'') is a Hawaii-based literary journal and

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

press. It was founded in 1978 by

Eric Chock Eric Chock is a Hawaiian poet, scholar and editor. He served as a professor of English and humanities at the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu, and coordinated the state's "Poets in the Schools" program for more than twenty years. In 1978, h ...

and Darrell H.Y. Lum to publish works by and for the people of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, ''Bamboo Ridge'' is one of the longest-running small presses, and is one of the oldest in Hawaii. It was named after a popular fishing spot on Oahu. It currently publishes two volumes a year: a literary journal of poetry and fiction featuring work by both emerging and established writers and a book by a single author or an anthology focused on a special theme. Both the journal and book are available singly or by subscription.

Lois-Ann Yamanaka Lois-Ann Yamanaka (born September 7, 1961) is an American poet and novelist from Hawaii. Many of her literary works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin, and some of her writing has dealt with controversial ethnic issues. In particular, her works confro ...

Lee Cataluna Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

, Rodney Morales,

Gary Pak Gary Pak (born 1952) is a writer, editor and professor of English at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Pak has been noted as one of the most important Asian Hawaiian writers. Biography Gary Pak was born and raised in Hawaii. Pak graduated from Bo ...

, and

Nora Okja Keller Nora Okja Keller (born 22 December 1966, in Seoul, South Korea) is a Korean American author. Her 1997 breakthrough work of fiction, ''Comfort Woman'', and her second book (2002), ''Fox Girl'', focus on multigenerational trauma resulting from Korea ...

are among the writers ''Bamboo Ridge'' has published. Yamanaka in particular has credited some of her literary success to the press.

History

Chock and Lum started ''Bamboo Ridge'' in 1978 after they noticed that local authors weren't being published in major literary journals. They published four slim volumes every year. They currently only publish two, an anthology and a single-author collection. As the press grew, so did the size of the volumes. In 2014 the press partnered with the Hawaii Council for the Humanities to offer discounts to middle- and high-school students purchasing their books. This is part of an effort to increase the amount of local literature read in the school system. That year, Chock and Lum retired as editors. Since then every issue of the journal has been edited by guest editors.

Digital archive

In 2020, they released a digital archive to preserve past issues. The archive was partially funded by the Hawaii Council for the Humanities and is hosted in a Kapiolani Community College repositor

Awards

In 2009 the press received an Outstanding Service Award from the

Association for Asian American Studies The Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) is a professional organization promoting teaching and research in Asian American studies. Its other goals including advocacy and representation on behalf of Asian-Americans and educating Americ ...

Book publications

tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the influential poetry anthology (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to disti ...

by 103 poets]'' *Wang, Wayne, and Diane Mei Lin Mark, ''Chan is Missing: A Film By Wayne Wang, With Introduction and Screen Notes by Diane Mei Lin Mark'' (Honolulu: Bamboo Ridge Press, 1984), . A special issue of ''Bamboo Ridge, The Hawaii Writers' Quarterly'' (the full title at the time), No. 23, Summer 1984. *Kikkawa, Scott, ''Kona Winds'' (Honolulu: Bamboo Ridge Press, 2020), . A hard-boiled noir murder mystery featuring a Japanese American Detective set in Honolulu of 1953.

References

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External links