Lois-Ann Yamanaka

Lois-Ann Yamanaka (born September 7, 1961 in Hoʻolehua, Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi) is a Japanese-American poet and novelist from Hawaii. Many of her critically acclaimed literary works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin, and some of her writing has dealt with controversial ethnic issues. In particular, her works confront themes of Asian American families and the local culture of Hawaii.

Among her principal works are:
* "Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre", a book of poems written in Hawaiian Pidgin (1993)
* "Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers" (1996)
* "Blu's Hanging" (1997)
* "Heads by Harry" (1998)
* "Name Me Nobody" (2000)
* "Father of the Four Passages" (2001)
* "The Heart's Language" (2005)
* "Behold the Many" (2006)

In 1993, "Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre" received the Pushcart Prize for poetry. Later, in 1994, the Association for Asian American Studies awarded the collection its fiction award.

In 1998, her novel "Blu's Hanging" was also awarded a fiction award by the Association of Asian American Studies. However, amid similar accusations that the book's portrayal of one of the characters perpetuated stereotypes about Filipino men, the board rescinded the award. This action sparked controversy among the Asian American literary community (with noted Asian American authors Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston supporting Yamanaka).

In 2004, a short film, "Silent Years", based on Yamanaka's screenplay was released. It is a story about a thirteen-year-old girl caught between an abusive uncle and a seventeen-year-old boyfriend, who expects a gift for his high school graduation. [ [http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Oct/19/il/il01a.html Story of child abuse told in 'Silent Years' - The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii's Newspaper ] ]

The April 2007 issue of "Honolulu Magazine" has an excerpt from Yamanaka's upcoming novel, with the working title, "The Mother Mary Stories" [http://www.honolulumagazine.com/currentmonth.aspx?id=17] .

Family

Yamanaka is the oldest of four daughters who grew up in Pahala on the Big Island of Hawaii. Her mother was a school teacher and her father was a school administrator. She is married to John Inferrera who is currently a physical education and health teacher at Washington Middle School in Honolulu, HI. They have a son, John, Jr.

Education

* Hilo High School, Class of 1979 [ [http://starbulletin.com/97/04/08/features/story1.html Honolulu Star-Bulletin Features ] ]
* University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
**B. Ed., 1983
**M. Ed., 1987

Awards

*National Endowment for the Humanities grant, 1990
*Pushcart Prize for Poetry, 1993
*Carnegie Foundation Grant, 1994
*National Endowment for the Arts grant, 1994
*Pushcart Prize, 1994
*Rona Jaffe Award for Women Writers, 1996
*Lannan Literary Award, 1998
*Asian American Literary Award, 1998.

External links

* [http://www.yamanakanaau.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52a/engl52a.1999/yamanaka.html Two articles on Lois-Ann Yamanaka]
* [http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=19990301%26s=pennybacker "What Boddah You?: The Authenticity Debate," "The Nation", March 1, 1999]
* [http://faculty.washington.edu/kendo/yamanaka.html Lois-Ann Yamanaka profile on Tom Bolling's faculty pages]
*

References