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malayaht13's review
4.0
literature by native pacific islanders is few and far between and especially those that are bilingual in nature. i loved it from start to finish and would recommend it to all and most importantly to those that want to understand the current native hawaiian/kanaka struggle.
ariel937's review
4.0
"English could never replace / the land's unfolding song, nor the ocean's / ancient oli, giving us use again."
this poetry book is the first book i've read by a native hawaiian author, and it was truly amazing. obviously, the poetry wasn't written for me, and there was a language barrier (google translate wasn't super helpful) that made it difficult for me to fully understand, but that didn’t take my enjoyment away. but the words were still beautiful and captivating. it was a really heartfelt, heartbreaking, and raw book. i highly recommend it!
"So now, though the television and radio instruct us to Speak / American. Think American. Act American, as the 50th state, I / know better than to think that such goodness could ever be / rewarded. But, like I tell my daughter, if you keep your na'au / Hawaiian it is easier to accept our bitter inheretence - we / must become them to overcome them."
my favorite poems include: po, the history of this place, pele, how i learned to write my name, tiny rebellions from the kamehameha tales, ku’ulei 1960, natives wanted, on cooking captain cook, kukui, and ka 'olelo.
here's a link to brandy mcdougall giving a ted talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K69_kuqBiX8
this poetry book is the first book i've read by a native hawaiian author, and it was truly amazing. obviously, the poetry wasn't written for me, and there was a language barrier (google translate wasn't super helpful) that made it difficult for me to fully understand, but that didn’t take my enjoyment away. but the words were still beautiful and captivating. it was a really heartfelt, heartbreaking, and raw book. i highly recommend it!
"So now, though the television and radio instruct us to Speak / American. Think American. Act American, as the 50th state, I / know better than to think that such goodness could ever be / rewarded. But, like I tell my daughter, if you keep your na'au / Hawaiian it is easier to accept our bitter inheretence - we / must become them to overcome them."
my favorite poems include: po, the history of this place, pele, how i learned to write my name, tiny rebellions from the kamehameha tales, ku’ulei 1960, natives wanted, on cooking captain cook, kukui, and ka 'olelo.
here's a link to brandy mcdougall giving a ted talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K69_kuqBiX8
gitli57's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
4.5
There is a full range of human emotion on display here, but what always shines through is McDougall's love for her People and for her Homeland. The collection is full of Hawaiian language and spirituality. There are no translations provided, so I kept Google translate set on Hawaiian and ended up with a nice little glossary. It's not hard to do and is necessary to get beneath the surface at all. And this poetry is definitely worth the effort.
sagie_2's review
4.0
Beautiful, vulnerable poetry. The balance between honoring the ancient while resolving the present was gorgeous. I will be rereading and looking for more works.
sagie's review
4.0
Beautiful, vulnerable poetry. The balance between honoring the ancient while resolving the present was gorgeous. I will be rereading and looking for more works.
arielreads's review against another edition
4.0
"English could never replace / the land's unfolding song, nor the ocean's / ancient oli, giving us use again."
this poetry book is the first book i've read by a native hawaiian author, and it was truly amazing. obviously, the poetry wasn't written for me, and there was a language barrier (google translate wasn't super helpful) that made it difficult for me to fully understand, but that didn’t take my enjoyment away. but the words were still beautiful and captivating. it was a really heartfelt, heartbreaking, and raw book. i highly recommend it!
"So now, though the television and radio instruct us to Speak / American. Think American. Act American, as the 50th state, I / know better than to think that such goodness could ever be / rewarded. But, like I tell my daughter, if you keep your na'au / Hawaiian it is easier to accept our bitter inheretence - we / must become them to overcome them."
my favorite poems include: po, the history of this place, pele, how i learned to write my name, tiny rebellions from the kamehameha tales, ku’ulei 1960, natives wanted, on cooking captain cook, kukui, and ka 'olelo.
here's a link to brandy mcdougall giving a ted talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K69_kuqBiX8
this poetry book is the first book i've read by a native hawaiian author, and it was truly amazing. obviously, the poetry wasn't written for me, and there was a language barrier (google translate wasn't super helpful) that made it difficult for me to fully understand, but that didn’t take my enjoyment away. but the words were still beautiful and captivating. it was a really heartfelt, heartbreaking, and raw book. i highly recommend it!
"So now, though the television and radio instruct us to Speak / American. Think American. Act American, as the 50th state, I / know better than to think that such goodness could ever be / rewarded. But, like I tell my daughter, if you keep your na'au / Hawaiian it is easier to accept our bitter inheretence - we / must become them to overcome them."
my favorite poems include: po, the history of this place, pele, how i learned to write my name, tiny rebellions from the kamehameha tales, ku’ulei 1960, natives wanted, on cooking captain cook, kukui, and ka 'olelo.
here's a link to brandy mcdougall giving a ted talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K69_kuqBiX8
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