''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) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

press. It was founded in 1978 by Eric Chock and Darrell H.Y. Lum to publish works by and for the people of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, ''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, Rodney Morales,

Gary Pak Gary Pak (born 1952) is a writer, editor and professor of English at University of Hawaii. 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 Boston Univers ...

, 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 was founded in 1979 as the Association for Asian/Pacific American Studies. The name was changed in 1982. The organization was established to promote teaching and research in Asian American studies. Its o ...

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 '' Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short p ...

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.

References

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External links