Posted in Dangerous Woman: Poetry for the Ageless, My Books, Poetry, Sacramento Poetry Center, Uncategorized, Watermark Publishing, tagged Dangerous Woman: Poetry for the Ageless, Poetry, Sacramento Poetry Center, Watermark Publishing on September 29, 2017| 8 Comments »
My new book of poems is now available through my publisher and yours truly. It will be mid October before Amazon and Barnes & Noble will have it available. Best to purchase through my publisher : Dawn@bookshawaii.net or through me. Part of my royalties will go to a scholarship at my alma mater for the 2nd year. Purchases from Watermark support local businesses. To my Hawaii supporters, a February visit is penciled in right now. Thank you in advance, dear friends.
Hawaii
via
Posted in Alzheimer's Care Resources, Alzheimer's Disease, Caregiving, Dignity in Aging, Elder Care, Humanities, Legacy of Humanity, Memoirs, poetry and caregiving, tagged Alzheimer's Association, Basically Books, Breaking the Silence:A Caregiver's Voice, Hawaii lecture tour, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, Kimochi, Mosaic Moon: Caregiving Through Poetry, Watermark Publishing on September 2, 2014| 2 Comments »
Drop by and say hello…these are my Fall lecture events:
Sat., Sept. 20 at 1:30 pm
Basically Books
160 Kamehameha Ave., Hilo, Hawaii 96720
I will be on a panel with other authors to discuss memoir writing based on Writing the Hawai’i Memoir by Darien Gee
Contact:Christine Reed
808-961-0144, Fax: 808-935-1553
Toll-free: 1-800-903-6277
Wed., Sept 24: Hilo Hawaii @ 5 p.m.
The Art of Caregiving…
Hilo Alzheimer’s Association
County Office of Aging: Kinoole St.
Contact: Chris Ridley: 808-443-7360
Mon., Tues., Sept 29 & 30: Honolulu HI
Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society 18th Biennial Conference: Imagine 2030…Mobilizing
Our Communities Across Generations.
My session: The Future of Caregiving: Writing and Poetry to Preserve Our Humanity”
Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach
Tues., Oct 7: Honolulu HI
Kapoho, Memoir of a Modern Pompeii
15 Craigside, 3:30pm
Contact: Cookie Nakai: cookie.nakai@15craigside.org
Fri., Oct 17: Leeza Gibbons radio Talk Show: Leeza’s Care Connection
Poetry and Caregiving
Time: 10 – 11 a.m.
Mon., Nov 17: San Mateo
Kimochi: 453 North San Mateo Dr
Time: 1 – 2:30
Title: I Am Somebody: Dignity in Caregiving
Contact: Liz Bissell (650-346-0849)
Tues. Nov 18: San Francisco
San Francisco Family Caregiver Alliance
1715 Buchanan St San Francisco
Title: I Am Somebody: The Art of Caregiving
Contact: Fumiko DiDomizio (425-931-2294) ex.127
2015 ( Details to follow )
Maui
May:
Tri-Isle Resource Conservation and Development Council. Inc.
Kahului, Maui
Executive Dir: John Tomoso
November:
Maui County Office of Aging
Posted in Book Awards, My Books, tagged Elvis Memorabilia, Watermark Publishing, Wayne Harada Show Biz, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on May 13, 2013| 1 Comment »
Beloved personal collection of Elvis items will aid MVT
By Wayne Harada
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, May 12, 2013
Disclosure: I’ve been a collector of recorded music for more than 60 years. Imagine walls of shelves and boxes upon boxes on the floor containing vinyl 331⁄3 LPs, 45 rpm singles, cassettes, CDs and videos. To me, this was pure treasure; to my wife, junk that took up a whole bedroom and then some.
So clearing out a lifetime of recorded music — whole lotta spending and shaking going on over the decades — has been painful and nostalgic. There were easily 10,000 titles, representing a lifetime of memories and reflecting a soundtrack of my life from the 1950s to the present.
Amid the stash, I discovered vintage collectibles and decided to dub a parcel “The <B>Elvis Presley Quartet” to donate as a live-auction bundle for Manoa Valley Theatre’s upcoming Manoa Marquee fundraiser, “Rock ‘n’ Roll is Here to Stay!,” at 5 p.m. May 19 at the Pacific Club. Elvis may not realize it, but proceeds will help MVT continue its tradition of presenting quality stage productions.
The package includes:
» An autographed photo of The King. Got it when I was in high school. (I still savor another photo, addressed to me.)
» A limited-edition “Aloha Elvis” decanter of bourbon (still filled) with Elvis clad in a white jumpsuit and lei. This trophy was created for a USS Arizona Memorial fundraiser (a project he supported), and doubles as a music box that plays “Blue Hawaii.”
» Four mint-condition 33 1⁄3 vinyl LPs of Presley’s early best-sellers.
» A coffee-table book, “Elvis: A Celebration,” by Mike Evans, DK Publishing.
It’s priceless stuff, impossible to merely give away since it represents part of a storied history of listening, collecting, interviewing and reviewing Elvis over the decades. For the right collector of things Elvis, it’s a gold mine.
Are you that collector? If so, call 988-6131 for ticket info — and bring your credit card. …
PERSONALITIES: Congrats to isle author Frances Kakugawa; her “Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer!” (Watermark Publishing) won best children’s book laurels at the 20th annual Book Awards Competition sponsored by the Northern California Publishers/Authors group. So all three of her “Wordsworth” books have that gold-seal winner’s decal on the cover. …
SMALL WORLD: When Matt Yee was at the Red Carpet Club in Narita, on a layover from Hong Kong/ Macau where he was performing, he overheard on the speaker: “Robert Cazimero, would you please …” Yep, Cazimero constantly visits Asia. Yee just staged his “Divas Live!” show in the Big Apple. …
ON BROADWAY: Local theater buffs who remember Kevin Gray, the Broadway actor who portrayed Scar in “The Lion King” in its Honolulu debut six years ago, may be interested in a celebration of his life at 2 p.m. Monday at the Majestic Theatre, where “Phantom of the Opera” resides. Gray died Feb. 11; Harold Prince, Craig Schulman, Cris Groenendaal, Rebecca Luker, Hugh Panaro and Dodie Pettit (Gray’s widow) will participate. Share your aloha if you’re in the Big Apple. …
SHORTS OF SORTS: Universal is delaying “Jurassic Park 4” filming even though director Colin Trevorrow has been prepping here for the June 24 shooting launch, now on hold. …
Frank De Lima’s Mother’s Day show unfolds twice, at 10:30 a.m. (brunch) and 6 p.m (dinner) today, at Pagoda’s C’est Si Bon. Call 948-8370. …
“Rain,” the Beatles experience, debuts Tuesday at Blaisdell Concert Hall. …
Society of Seven LV unveils a new show Tuesday at the Outrigger Waikiki’s Main Showroom. On weekends, “Live at the Outrigger” with Augie T and Andy Bumatai launches at 10 p.m. Saturday and repeats Saturdays thereafter. Call 923-7465. …
And that’s “Show Biz.” …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at http://www.staradvertiser.com
Posted in My Books, tagged Northern CA Publishers/Authors, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on April 28, 2013| 4 Comments »
Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! won two awards last night at the
Northern CA Publishers/Authors 20th Annual Book Awards Competition dinner event.
Best Children’s Book of 2013 and third prize in Cover & Design.
It was an honor to received the awards from President Ted Witt and NY best selling author John
Lescroart.
Posted in our children, Poetry, Sacramento Poetry Center, Uncategorized, tagged Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods, Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, Poetry Contest winners, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on April 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Happy Earth Day, everyone! We are celebrating by announcing the winners of the Wordsworth the Poet “Poe-TREE Contest!”
In the Wordsworth Poe-TREE Contest, students were asked to write a poem celebrating their favorite tree, following the model of Wordsworth the Mouse and his friends in the book Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! The young mice in the story campaign to save the trees in their community by writing poems reminding all the neighbors about the special qualities of the trees around them.
Poems were judged based on creativity, poetic merit and how well they conveyed what makes the trees special to the students. The six contest winners will receive a copies of each of the three books in the Wordsworth series, a gardening tool kit and a Koa Legacy Tree from the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, donated by Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods.
K-5 Division Winners:
Makayla Rose Molden
Makayla Rose Molden (age 6, Kapolei, Mauka Lani Elementary), untitled
The Mountain Apple tree is yummy to me.
The fruit is up so high to knock it down is a game I try.
I collect the fruit and make apple pie.
Eli Wolfe
Eli Wolfe (age 5, Honolulu, University Laboratory School), “Banyan Tree”
I like to climb the
Banyan tree
at Barwick.
I can climb to
the sky.
You should try it too
someday.
It is so fun.
Grade 6-8 Division:
Cindy Tsou
Min-Hua (Cindy) Tsou (age 11, Kapolei, Kapolei Middle School), “Red Maple Tree (Acer rubrum)”
A bright, scarlet leaf blew by.
A red lobed leaf fall and fly.
It can be red, yellow and even green.
Red maple trees makes a beautiful scene.
It grows in the north, with it’s flower blooming back and forth.
A red maple tree brings red, bright shines.
A red maple is of course, very fine.
Emerson Goo
Emerson Goo (age 12, Honolulu, Niu Valley Middle School), “Forest Guardians”
Sentinels at watch
Forest guardians holding
Treasured memories
Grade 9-12 Division:
Sophie Corless
Sophie Corless (age 15, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Northern Highlands Regional High School), “The Lemon Tree”
The cool sticky air clings to me;
my bare feet squelch in the grass
just after the rain shower.
The lemon tree stands in the back corner
towering over the garden, and has a prevailing presence.
Under the tree lies my step ladder,
with my initials carved in the leg.
The wicker basket dangles
on a tiny branch at my height.
I have my technique down,
twist and snap over and over again.
Even the bees and ants are fixated on my movements,
their fragile wings and tiny legs
seem to stop to observe.
Little droplets collect in the pores of the rind,
making my hand cool,
droplets of lemon juice ooze through the pores
and run down my hand to my wrist and to my elbow,
stopping and then dripping off.
By the end I am covered in a mixture of rain and lemon,
dried and sticky.
With every lemon I snap off,
the branch snaps back and sprinkles me with rain.
I swear I hear my sweltering forehead
sizzle against the cool droplets.
In the kitchen I squeeze every last lemon,
popping the juice into the pitcher with the yellow flowers,
along with a fistful of sugar and a splash of water.
I crack the ice tray in half, scooping out the cubes.
The first sip makes my face contort
into an uncomfortable position,
one you can’t avoid,
but the last is always the sweetest.
Zoe Edelman Brier
Zoe Edelman Brier (age 18, Allendale, New Jersey, Northern Highlands Regional High School), “Veins of Color”
I remember maple Leaf picking
with my father before the bus
came to ship me off
to a grey school building
with a grey blacktop
and grey windows.
The colors of the Leaves
were brighter than anything
I’d ever seen, standing out
against the blah of morning.
even through fog,
the Leaves shown like bright beacons
of change and hope for the future.
the Leaves would vein and crinkle
in red and orange and yellow,
mixing in a thin canvas.
My father would sit me on his shoulders
and have me reach the highest branch
possible to get the best Leaf
to press in a book that I still have
12 years later, the colors frozen in time,
unbrowned and delicate, red stains
clashing with the dark green of Leaf.
Congratulations to all our winners and to all the poets who entered our contest. Wordsworth’s message to you all: Don ‘t stop writing poems and continue to save our trees. Give your favorite tree a hug!
Posted in Events, My Books, Poetry and Writing, tagged Barnes & Noble, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on February 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Book Signing for Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
1 P.M.
Barnes & Noble
6111 Sunrise Blvd
Citrus Heights, CA
Ph: 916-853-1389
It would be sooo embarrassing if no one came…..
Posted in Going Green, My Books, our children, Poetry, Poetry and Writing, Students in classrooms, tagged Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods, Nancy Arcayna, poetry contest for students, Star*Advertiser, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on February 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Wordsworth and I made the Hawaii newspaper today:
Honolulu Star/Advertiser
February 9, 2013
“Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer!” by Frances H. Kakugawa (Watermark Publishing, $10.95), tells the tale of Wordsworth, a small Hawaii mouse, and a few of his friends who use poetry in their attempts save a koa tree grove.
Wordsworth is troubled when he finds a load of fallen trees on a truck bed and a bulldozer ready to plow down the last remaining tree, the one where he and his best friend, Emily, had carved their initials. As the tiny friends struggle to make a difference and preserve the forest, one of Wordsworth’s poems becomes a rallying point as two groups of adult mice debate the trees’ importance.
The friends find their “Save This Tree” poems taped to pine, mango and coconut trees. Young children might get lost in the words, but the message is endearing.
Tree in a Box kits, which can be purchased at www.bookshawaii.net for $14, include seeds to start a milo tree (a type of tree from the hibiscus family, similar to hau) along with a “Wordsworth” book.The activity of planting a tree may make the environmentally friendly message clearer for younger readers.
Colorful illustrations by Andrew J. Catanzariti bring the tale to life.
Write an ode to your favorite tree . Have a favorite tree that inspires you to write poetry? Watermark Publishing and Hawaii-born author Frances Kakugawa invite keiki in grades K-12 to participate in the “Wordsworth the Poet Poe-TREE Contest.” To enter the contest, kids are invited to follow the example of Wordsworth and write a poem that celebrates their favorite tree. Six prize packages — two per grade division: K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 — will be awarded. Each package includes a copy of the three Wordsworth series books, a child’s gardening tool kit and Koa Legacy Tree from the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative donated by Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods. Download the entry form at bookshawaii.net and click on News and Events. By March 1, send entries marked “ATTN: Wordsworth’s Poe-TREE Contest” via email to wordsworth@bookshawaii.net or to Watermark Publishing, 1088 Bishop St. Suite 310, Hono?lulu, HI?96813. Winners will be notified April 15.
