Hongo, Garrett 1994
At six I lived for spells:
how a few Hawaiian words could call
up the rain, could hymn like the sea
in the long swirl of chambers
curling in the nautilus of a shell,
– Garrett Hongo, “What For”
Read an interview with Garrett Hongo from Lantern Review:
A Conversation with Garrett Hongo
Garrett Hongo was born in the back room of the Hongo Store in Volcano, Hawai`i in 1951. He grew up in Kahuku and Hau`ula on the island of O`ahu and moved to Los Angeles when he was six, much to his everlasting regret.
No one knew the secret of my flutes,
and I laugh now
because some said I was enlightened.
But the truth is
I’m only a gardener
– Garrett Hongo, “Something Whispered in the Shakuhachi“
Watch Garrett Hongo read and discuss his third book of poems, Coral Road, with the National Park Service:
Coral Road: The Poetry of Garrett Hongo [Video] (U.S. National Park Service)
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