MAHEALANI PEREZ-WENDT
"Her compelling poems make a place for the emergence of her Hawaiian ancestors. They sing. The past, present and future are woven tightly with tough strength. Some poems are joyful, ripe and beautiful. They are the calm and rolling ocean; the `āina rich with flowers and fruit. Others are fierce and angry, made of fire and fury; they are spears of truth. We need these songs."
-- Joy Harjo, Mvskoke poet, musician
"Mahealani Perez-Wendt envelopes the reader in poems that reveal island life as intensely human, with a voice tht is always strong and confident, a vision that is both incisive and compassionate, and a gift for language that reflects the sensibilities of her ancestors. . . . Anyone who loves these islands and/or poetry will be touched by Uluhaimālama."
--Victoria Kneubuhl, Hawaiian playwright
"Since the 1980s when I first started reading Mahealani Wendt's poetry, I have been a huge fan of her work, and I have waited eagerly all these years for her first collection. And here it is. And what a collection it is: it has an inescapable mana that claims us, makes us see more deeply, more originally into what makes Hawai`i and its Kanaka Maoli people who and what they are; a mana that shouts, protests, whispers, sings -- and makes us ant more. Her poetry also possesses a profound wisdom born of great suffering, faith in and aloha for her `ohana, friends, people and Hawai`i. Read it -- it will alter how you see Hawai`i and your place in it!
--Albert Wendt, acclaimed Pacific writer
Mahealani was born and raised in rural Lawai on the island of Kaua`i and currently resides in Wailuanui, East Maui. She is a long-time political activist and retired as Executive Director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, a public interest lawfirm, after 32 years of service.
She has published poetry and short stories in many literary magazines and anthologies, including UCLA Indigenous Peoples' Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance; Mānoa; Literary Arts Hawai`i; Bamboo Ridge; in several volumes of`Ōiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal; Kaimana; Hawai`i Review; O`ahu Review; Many Mountains Moving; and Aotearoa-based Whetu Moana, edited by Robert Sullivan and Albert Wendt.
She was a recipient of the Hawai`i-based Elliott Cades Award for Literature in 1993. Her book of poetry “Uluhaimalama”, was published by Kuleana `Oiwi Press in 2007 and she is one of four indigenous writers featured in the University of Nebraska book "Effigies". In 2012, she co-edited, with Brian Doyle of Portland Magazine, Ho`olaule`a: Celebrating 10 Years of Pacific Writing, an anthology featuring writers and instructors of the non-profit Pacific Writers Connection.
Over the past thirty years, Mahealani has been guest instructor at many high school and college classrooms and was a regular featured speaker at an annual Hawai`i "Poetry in the Schools" event. Since retiring and moving to Maui, she has continued to write and publish poetry and short stories.
"Her compelling poems make a place for the emergence of her Hawaiian ancestors. They sing. The past, present and future are woven tightly with tough strength. Some poems are joyful, ripe and beautiful. They are the calm and rolling ocean; the `āina rich with flowers and fruit. Others are fierce and angry, made of fire and fury; they are spears of truth. We need these songs."
-- Joy Harjo, Mvskoke poet, musician
"Mahealani Perez-Wendt envelopes the reader in poems that reveal island life as intensely human, with a voice tht is always strong and confident, a vision that is both incisive and compassionate, and a gift for language that reflects the sensibilities of her ancestors. . . . Anyone who loves these islands and/or poetry will be touched by Uluhaimālama."
--Victoria Kneubuhl, Hawaiian playwright
"Since the 1980s when I first started reading Mahealani Wendt's poetry, I have been a huge fan of her work, and I have waited eagerly all these years for her first collection. And here it is. And what a collection it is: it has an inescapable mana that claims us, makes us see more deeply, more originally into what makes Hawai`i and its Kanaka Maoli people who and what they are; a mana that shouts, protests, whispers, sings -- and makes us ant more. Her poetry also possesses a profound wisdom born of great suffering, faith in and aloha for her `ohana, friends, people and Hawai`i. Read it -- it will alter how you see Hawai`i and your place in it!
--Albert Wendt, acclaimed Pacific writer
Mahealani was born and raised in rural Lawai on the island of Kaua`i and currently resides in Wailuanui, East Maui. She is a long-time political activist and retired as Executive Director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, a public interest lawfirm, after 32 years of service.
She has published poetry and short stories in many literary magazines and anthologies, including UCLA Indigenous Peoples' Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance; Mānoa; Literary Arts Hawai`i; Bamboo Ridge; in several volumes of`Ōiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal; Kaimana; Hawai`i Review; O`ahu Review; Many Mountains Moving; and Aotearoa-based Whetu Moana, edited by Robert Sullivan and Albert Wendt.
She was a recipient of the Hawai`i-based Elliott Cades Award for Literature in 1993. Her book of poetry “Uluhaimalama”, was published by Kuleana `Oiwi Press in 2007 and she is one of four indigenous writers featured in the University of Nebraska book "Effigies". In 2012, she co-edited, with Brian Doyle of Portland Magazine, Ho`olaule`a: Celebrating 10 Years of Pacific Writing, an anthology featuring writers and instructors of the non-profit Pacific Writers Connection.
Over the past thirty years, Mahealani has been guest instructor at many high school and college classrooms and was a regular featured speaker at an annual Hawai`i "Poetry in the Schools" event. Since retiring and moving to Maui, she has continued to write and publish poetry and short stories.
Here are some links about Mahealani and/or her work
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahealani_Perez-Wendt
Bury Our Hearts at Wal-Mart, etc.
https://abwritingworkshop.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/mwendt-reading.pdf
Amazon link to purchase book, Uluhaimalama
https://www.amazon.com/Uluhaimalama-Mahealani-Perez-Wendt/dp/0966822048
Review, Effigies
https://orionmagazine.org/review/effigies/
Poets of Color, Mills College 2010
On Mahealani Perez-Wendt: Writing the Impact of (Neo-)Colonialism in Hawai'i
http://poetsofcolor2010.blogspot.com/2010/11/on-mahealani-perez-wendt-writing-impact.html
Kaona as a Decolonizing Strategy in Hawaiian Poetry
https://medium.com/@melrands/kaona-as-a-decolonising-strategy-in-hawaiian-poetry-73f905935ed6
Four Hawaiian Women Poets, Maui Time
https://mauitime.com/culture/four-hawaiian-women-poets/
The Mo'o Project
https://alanajournal.wordpress.com/tag/uluhaimalama/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahealani_Perez-Wendt
Bury Our Hearts at Wal-Mart, etc.
https://abwritingworkshop.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/mwendt-reading.pdf
Amazon link to purchase book, Uluhaimalama
https://www.amazon.com/Uluhaimalama-Mahealani-Perez-Wendt/dp/0966822048
Review, Effigies
https://orionmagazine.org/review/effigies/
Poets of Color, Mills College 2010
On Mahealani Perez-Wendt: Writing the Impact of (Neo-)Colonialism in Hawai'i
http://poetsofcolor2010.blogspot.com/2010/11/on-mahealani-perez-wendt-writing-impact.html
Kaona as a Decolonizing Strategy in Hawaiian Poetry
https://medium.com/@melrands/kaona-as-a-decolonising-strategy-in-hawaiian-poetry-73f905935ed6
Four Hawaiian Women Poets, Maui Time
https://mauitime.com/culture/four-hawaiian-women-poets/
The Mo'o Project
https://alanajournal.wordpress.com/tag/uluhaimalama/