Kirby Wright
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Kirby Michael Wright is an American writer best known for his 2005
coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
island novel ''Punahou Blues'' and the epic novel ''Moloka'i Nui Ahina'', which is based on the life and times of Wright's paniolo grandmother. Both novels deal with the racial tensions between haoles (whites) and the indigenous Hawaiians, and illustrate the challenge for characters who, as the product of mixed-race marriages, must try to bridge the two cultures and overcome prejudice from both camps. Wright has ventured into the genre of creative nonfiction in 2019 with ''The Queen of Moloka'i'', which explores the teenage years of his part-Hawaiian grandmother and documents the Wright family saga in the islands. Wright's work is primarily concerned with the complexities of multicultural Hawaii, Killahaole Day, prejudices against (and within) island high schools, and the tricky matter of interracial dating. He incorporates the local creole language into his novels and was the first author to document the
pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...
spoken by the paniolo cowboys on the east end of
Molokai Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...
. Wright has ventured into the arena of
speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
with a pair of books in 2013. ''The End, My Friend'' is a futuristic thriller set in the not-too-distant future featuring a survivalist couple roaming an apocalyptic landscape from San Diego north to Crater Lake, Oregon. ''Square Dancing at the Asylum'' is set, in part, at the former state asylum in Worcester, Mass., and is dedicated to Paul Ford Nolan, Wright's great-uncle and lifelong resident of the asylum. Both books received Certificates of Excellence at the 2014 San Diego Book Awards. HOUDINI, his first play, was performed at
the Secret Theatre The Secret Theatre is an Off-Off-Broadway theater that was first established in The Long Island City Art Center (Queens, NY) in July 2007 by actor/director Richard Mazda. The theater seats just under 50 audience members. The theater is home to The ...
in New York on February 20, 2016.
The Secret Theatre The Secret Theatre is an Off-Off-Broadway theater that was first established in The Long Island City Art Center (Queens, NY) in July 2007 by actor/director Richard Mazda. The theater seats just under 50 audience members. The theater is home to The ...
produced his second play, ''Asylum Uncle'', on November 4, 2016.


Biography


Early years

Wright was born in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, Hawaii. He is of English-Irish-Italian-Hawaiian heritage. His European roots are in
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, Ireland, Nelson,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and
Genoa, Italy Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitants ...
. His father, Harold S. Wright, was a corporate attorney for the firm Smith Wild BeeBe & Cades. His mother, the former June McCormack of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, was a secretary at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
. Starting at the age of four, Wright spent summers with his part-Hawaiian grandmother Julia Gilman on her ranch on the east end of
Molokai Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...
. It was here that Wright met Sophie Cooke, a cattle rancher who wrote the memoir ''Sincerely, Sophie'' about her life and times on the islands. This meeting proved influential to the young Wright because Cooke wrote about his grandmother. Evidence of Wright's love for the written word surfaced at the Star of the Sea Elementary School in Honolulu, where he crafted and performed plays about vampires, pro wrestlers, and secret agents. Kirby Wright won first place in a recital competition for his reading of "Trees" by
Joyce Kilmer Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American people, American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees (poem), Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection ''Trees and Other Poems'' in ...
and also won awards for his original poems. Kirby was transferred to the
Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...
in the 7th Grade and won the short story competition. Despite winning this competition, he felt like an outsider at Punahou School and his experiences at this private institution became fertile material for his
coming-of-age novel In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...
''Punahou Blues''.


University years

Wright attended the
University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...
for one semester and then transferred to the
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...
. At the University of Hawaiʻi, he studied under the tutelage of
Maxine Hong Kingston Maxine Hong Kingston (; born Maxine Ting Ting Hong; October 27, 1940) is an American novelist. She is a professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a B.A. in English in 1962. Kingston has written three ...
and met
Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...
as well as
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...
. Wright transferred to the
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
, where he took classes taught by the poets Bobbie Louise Hawkins and
Jerome Rothenberg Jerome Rothenberg (December 11, 1931 – April 21, 2024) was an American poet, translator and anthologist, noted for his work in the fields of ethnopoetics and performance poetry. Rothenberg co-founded the method of ethnopoetics with Dennis T ...
. Wright received a B.A. degree in English and American literature of the
University of California San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
. After graduation, wright sold cars for a living at Rancho Olds in
Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa is a community in the central part of San Diego, California. It is bounded by State Route 52 to the north, Interstate 805 to the west, Aero Drive to the south, and Interstate 15 to the east. Adjacent communities include Serra Mesa, ...
, then became public relations director for the Carlsbad Inn and San Clemente Cove. Rich but unhappy, he applied to the
San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...
and was accepted into their Masters Program in Creative Writing by
Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...
. While at the San Francisco State University, he took classes taught by
Frances Mayes Frances Mayes (born March 23, 1940) is an American writer. Her 1996 memoir '' Under the Tuscan Sun'' was on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for over two years and was the basis for the film '' Under the Tuscan Sun''. Biography Frances May ...
, Daniel J. Langton,
Molly Giles Molly Giles (born in 1942) is an American short story writer, novelist, and professor at the University of Arkansas. She formerly taught at San Francisco State University. She is the author of ''Creek Walk and Other Stories'' () published in 1997 a ...
, and
Harry Mark Petrakis Harry Mark Petrakis ( ; June 5, 1923 – February 2, 2021) was an American novelist and writer of short stories. He was best known for depicting the life of Greek-American immigrants in the Greektown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. He died at ...
. Kirby Wright earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and was the first student in the history of his university to receive the (
Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outrea ...
Award as well as the
Browning Society Browning societies were groups who met to discuss the works of Robert Browning. Emerging from various reading groups, the societies indicated the poet's fame, and unusually were forming in his lifetime.Murray, H. (2002) ''Come, bright improvemen ...
Award for Dramatic Monologue, and the Ann Fields Poetry Prize).


''Punahou Blues''

The setting of the book () is Wright's high-school alma mater
Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...
. The novel provides insight into the tumultuous 1960s and '70s in multicultural Honolulu, from the viewpoint of a white (''haole'') boy narrator searching for his identity in this private school. His rites of passage include losing the girl of his dreams, not living up to his father's great expectations, surviving Killahaole Day, being suspended, sibling rivalry, fighting the school bully, and navigating the tricky waters of
interracial dating Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different " races" or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation (Lat ...
. A parallel novel entitled ''Molokai'i Nui Ahina'' was published in August 2007. The book () features the life and times of Julia Daniels, a Moloka'i pioneer woman of mixed blood, who invites her grandsons Jeff and Ben to spend the summer with her at her ranch. She shares the land with ex-husband Chipper, an alcoholic war hero with an estate bordering the swamp. The boys roam a true paradise consisting of fishponds, waterfalls, and mountains with herds of deer. Jeff meets the kahuna woman who freezes pictures of her enemies, the transsexual who seduces the Chief of Police, the man who referees cock fights in Kaunakakai, the beautiful divorcee who lives in the saddle room, and the prodigal grandfather who returns to woo Julia. All these characters shape Jeff's sensibilities as he learns the secrets of his grandmother's wild past in Honolulu and the intensity of her struggles on the Lonely Isle.


Awards and recognition

Kirby Wright has been nominated for five Pushcart Prizes and three Best of the Net Awards. He is a past recipient of the Jodi Stutz Memorial Prize in Poetry, the Ann Fields Poetry Prize, the Academy of American Poets Award, the Ad Hoc Flash Fiction Award, two
Browning Society Browning societies were groups who met to discuss the works of Robert Browning. Emerging from various reading groups, the societies indicated the poet's fame, and unusually were forming in his lifetime.Murray, H. (2002) ''Come, bright improvemen ...
Awards for Dramatic Monologue, seven San Diego Book Awards, and Arts Council Silicon Valley Fellowships in Poetry and The Novel. ''Before the City'' (), his first book of poetry, took First Place at the San Diego Book Awards. ''Punahou Blues'' was a Finalist at the San Diego Book Awards and Honorable Mention at the Hawaii Book Awards. He was recently interviewed on Fox Morning News, Art Rocks internet radio in San Diego, and Hawaiian Kine News out of Las Vegas. He is a frequent guest on 50th State Radio, hosted by Uncle Paul Natto and broadcast live over the Internet from Las Vegas. Wright is a subject of biographical entry in ten editions of ''
Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...
'' and was listed in the 2001 and 2007 editions of ''
Who's Who in the World Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...
''. He won a Visiting Writer post at the 2009 International Writers Conference in Hong Kong, where he joined fellow US poet
Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...
as well as Pacific Rim colleagues Young-Ha Kim (Korea),
Bi Feiyu Bi Feiyu (, born 1964) is a Chinese writer.Chitralekha Basu and Song Wenwei ''China Daily'', Jan 12, 2012 His works are known for their complex portrayal of the "female psyche." He has won some of the highest literary awards in China. He also wr ...
(China), Atsushi Shiitada (Okinawa), Wena Poon (Singapore), Chen Li (Taiwan),
Miguel Syjuco Miguel Augusto Gabriel Jalbuena Syjuco (born November 17, 1976) is a Filipino writer from Manila and the grand prize winner of the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize for his first novel ''Ilustrado''. Early life and education Syjuco, the son of Repr ...
(Philippines) and Janet Charman (New Zealand). He represented the Pacific Rim region of Hawaii at this writers conference. Wright also won a Visiting Writer post at the 2010 Martha's Vineyard Writers Residency in Edgartown, Mass., and was the 2011 Artist in Residence at Milkwood International, Czech Republic. He won both the 2012 Honolulu Weekly Nonfiction Prize and the 2012 Honolulu Weekly Poetry Prize. Wright was the 2014 Resident Scholar at the Earthskin Artist Colony in Auckland, New Zealand. He was awarded Certificates of Excellence in three different Published Book categories at the 2014 San Diego Book Awards. Wright received a 2015 Certificate of Recognition from the 76th District of the California Legislature Assembly for his body of work and his exceptional dedication to writing. He was the 2016 Artist in Residence at the Eckerö Mail and Customs House in the Åland Islands, Finland, and won the 2018 Redwood Empire Mensa Award for creative nonfiction. In April, 2019, he was recognized by Judy Ritter, the Mayor of Vista, California, for his contributions to local arts as well as his inclusion in over 200 literary journals around the world. Kirby Wright is represented by Geraldine Nichol of The Book Bureau Literary Agency in
Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...
, Ireland.


Selected works

*''Champagne Eyes: Poetry and Prose.'' San Diego, California: Heebie-Jeebie Press, 1986. *''Life Extension.'' .p. Green Turtle Press Chapbooks, 2002. * ''Before the City: Collected Poems & Prose Poems.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2003. *''Punahou Blues.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2005. *''Moloka'i Nui Ahina: Summers on the Lonely Isle.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2007. *''The End, My Friend.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2013. *''Permanent Damage.'' Patterson, New York: The Last Automat Press, 2013. *''Square Dancing at the Asylum: Nouveau Noir Flash Fiction.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2013. *''The Widow from Lake Bled.'' Westbrook, Maine: Moon Pie Press, 2013. * ''Outside the Hotel.'' St. Louis, Missouri: Architrave Press, 2013. *''Notes Above Water: Selected Poems.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2014. *''Hong Kong Man: Selected Poems.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2015. *''The Girl With the Green Violin.'' La Mesa, California: Etched Press, 2015. *''Houdini.'' A play performed at
The Secret Theatre The Secret Theatre is an Off-Off-Broadway theater that was first established in The Long Island City Art Center (Queens, NY) in July 2007 by actor/director Richard Mazda. The theater seats just under 50 audience members. The theater is home to The ...
, New York, New York, 2016. *''Asylum Uncle.'' A play performed at
The Secret Theatre The Secret Theatre is an Off-Off-Broadway theater that was first established in The Long Island City Art Center (Queens, NY) in July 2007 by actor/director Richard Mazda. The theater seats just under 50 audience members. The theater is home to The ...
, New York, New York, 2016. *''At the Customs House: Poetry and Flash.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2017. *''The Wounded Morning: Poetry and Flash.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2017. *''Rag Of Man.'' A play performed at Manhattan Repertory Theatre, New York, New York, 2017. *''The Queen of Moloka'i, Book 1: Based on a True Story.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2019. *''As Big As a Dallas Cowboy.'' A play performed at ARTS at Marks Garage, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2019. *''Sorrow Town: Selected Stories.'' San Diego, California: Lemon Shark Press, 2021. *''American Dreamland: Poetry.'' Morongo Valley, California: Bottlecap Press, 2024.


References


External links

* * * Jay Fidell talks with author, Kirby Wright about his new book, ''The Queen of Molokai''. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Kirby 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American poets American male novelists American male poets Living people Native Hawaiian writers Novelists from Hawaii Punahou School alumni San Francisco State University alumni University of California, San Diego alumni University of Colorado alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Writers from Honolulu Year of birth missing (living people)