Hawaiian literature has its origins in

Polynesian mythology The Polynesian narrative or Polynesian mythology encompasses the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia (a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian Triangle) together with those of the scattered cul ...

. It was originally preserved and expanded solely through oral traditions, as the ancient Hawaiians never developed a writing system. Written literature in the Hawaiian language and literary works in other languages by authors resident in Hawaii did not appear until the nineteenth century, when the arrival of American missionaries introduced the English language, the Latin alphabet, and Western notions of composition to the kingdom. The earliest compilations of traditional Hawaiian writing were made by

John Papa ʻĪʻī John (Ioane) Kaneiakama Papa ʻĪʻī (1800–1870) was a 19th-century educator, politician and historian in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life ʻĪʻī was born 1800, in the month of Hilinehu, which he calculated to be August 3, in later life. He was b ...

Samuel Kamakau Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau (October 29, 1815 – September 5, 1876) was a Hawaiian historian and scholar. His work appeared in local newspapers and was later compiled into books, becoming an invaluable resource on the Hawaiian people, Hawaiian ...

, Kepelino Keauokalani, and

David Malo David Malo or Davida Malo (1795–1853) was a chiefly counselor, a Hawaiian intellectual, educator, politician and minister. He is remembered by subsequent generations of Hawaiian people and scholars primarily as a Native Hawaiian historian of the ...

. They were succeeded by King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, ...

, Martha Beckwith,

Abraham Fornander Abraham Fornander (November 4, 1812 – November 1, 1887) was a Swedish-born emigrant who became an important journalist, judge, and ethnologist in Hawaii. Early life and education Fornander was born in Öland, Sweden on November 4, 1812, to An ...

, and William Drake Westervelt, all of whom produced later collections retelling or adapting Hawaii's oral histories. Other noted authors whose works feature Hawaiian settings and themes, or who were temporarily resident in Hawaii, include

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

, Mark Twain,

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

, and

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

. Detective novelist

Earl Derr Biggers Earl Derr Biggers (August 26, 1884 – April 5, 1933) was an American novelist and playwright. His novels featuring the fictional Chinese American detective Charlie Chan were adapted into popular films made in the United States and China. Biogr ...

is remembered chiefly for his books set in early twentieth century Honolulu, whose protagonist is Chinese-Hawaiian detective

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alter ...

. Hawaiian literature in the latter half of the twentieth century was characterized by both rapid growth and an increasing emphasis on realism, sometimes influenced by the Second Hawaiian Renaissance and the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.

List of Hawaii authors

Noelani Arista Denise Noelani Manuela Arista is an associate professor of Hawaiian and US History in the Department of History at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Her scholarship focuses on 19th century American History, Hawaiian History and Literature, I ...

*Robert Barclay, author of ''Hawaii Smiles'' *

Alan Brennert Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the University of Califo ...

, author of ''Moloka'i'' and ''Honolulu'' *Marie Alohalani Brown *O. A. Bushnell, author of ''Ka'a'awa, The Return of Lono,'' and ''Molokai'' *Lee Cataluna * Eric Chock * Kiana Davenport *

Gavan Daws Gavan Daws is an American writer, historian and filmmaker residing in Honolulu, Hawaii. He writes about Hawaii, the Pacific, and Asia. He is a retired professor of history at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Daws is originally from Australia and ...

* Darlaine Mahealani Dudoit, founder of '''Oiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal'' * Glen Grant * Kaui Hart Hemmings, author of ''

The Descendants ''The Descendants'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney in the mai ...

'' * John Dominis Holt IV, author of ''Waimea Summer, Princess of the Night Rides, On Being Hawaiian'' and ''Recollections'' * Garrett Hongo *ku'ualoha ho'omanawanui, co-founder of '''Oiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal'' *

George Kahumoku, Jr. George Kahumoku Jr. is a Grammy Award winning Hawaiian musician specializing in slack-key guitar. Born in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, he was labeled as "Hawaii's Renaissance Man" by Nona Beamer because of his far reaching talents: far ...

*Matthew Kaopio *Lopaka Kapanui, author of ''Haunted Hawaiian Nights'' and ''The Legend of Morgan's Corner'' * Nora Okja Keller * Maxine Hong Kingston *Juliet Kono * R. Zamora Linmark, author of ''Rolling the R's'' *Darrell H. Y. Lum * Wing Tek Lum * Chris McKinney, author of ''The Tattoo, Mililani Mauka,'' and ''Boi No Good'' * Ian MacMillan, author of ''The Red Wind'' *

Susanna Moore Susanna Moore (born December 9, 1945) is an American writer and teacher. Born in Pennsylvania but raised in Hawaii, Moore worked as a model and script reader in Los Angeles and New York City before beginning her career as a writer. Her first nove ...

* Rodney Morales, author of ''When the Shark Bites'' *

Milton Murayama Milton Atsushi Murayama (April 10, 1923 – July 27, 2016) was an American novelist and playwright. A Nisei, he wrote the 1975 novel ''All I Asking for Is My Body'', which is considered a classic novel of the experiences of Japanese Americans ...

*Ingrid Naiman *

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

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 ...

* Mark Panek, author of ''Hawai'i: A Novel'' *Lehua Parker, author of ''Niuhi Shark Series'' *

Mary Kawena Pukui Mary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopele Naleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui (20 April 1895 – 21 May 1986), known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert, and educator. Life Pukui was born on April 20, 1895, in her ...

* Shawna Yang Ryan *Noenoe Silva *

Cathy Song Cathy Song (born Cathy-Lynn Song; August 20, 1955) is an American poet who has won numerous awards including the Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize and the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America. She uses her heritage, coming ...

* Lee Tonouchi *

Haunani-Kay Trask Haunani-Kay Trask (October 3, 1949 – July 3, 2021) was a Native Hawaiian activist, educator, author, and poet. She served as leader of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and was professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She w ...

Kirby Wright Kirby Michael Wright is an American writer best known for his 2005 coming-of-age 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 t ...

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 ...

List of literary magazines

*''

Bamboo Ridge ''Bamboo Ridge'' (in full ''Bamboo Ridge: Journal of Hawai'i Literature and Arts'') is a Hawaii-based literary journal and nonprofit press. It was founded in 1978 by Eric Chock and Darrell H.Y. Lum to publish works by and for the people of Ha ...

'' *'''Oiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal''

References

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

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