What We Must Remember

A new collection by award-winning authors of No Choice but to Follow (BR #96): Christy Passion, Ann Inoshita, Juliet S. Kono, and Jean Yamasaki Toyama. Features 28 linked poems (renshi), insightful author commentary, introduction and time line of events by Massie scholar John P. Rosa. This collaboration revisits the 1932 kidnapping/murder of Native Hawaiian prizefighter Joseph Kahahawai and the events surrounding it, commonly known as “The Massie Affair”. Referred to as “one of the greatest criminal cases of modern times” by the Chicago Tribune, the incident reflected the racial tensions in plantation-era Hawaii. In this renshi, each poet investigates, interrogates, and brings to light the racial, ethical, and moral complexities of the controversial case, their linked verses interwoven with factual detail, creating a mosaic of emotional depth that explores the implications of the historical events that continue to reverberate today.

Christy Passion is a critical care nurse and poet, recipient of the Atlanta Review International Merit Award, Academy of American Poetry Award, and the 2017Cades Award. Ann Inoshita has a book of poems, Manoa Stream, and wrote Wea I Stay: A Play in Hawaii, included in The Statehood Project, and performed by Kumu Kahua Theatre. She teaches at Leeward Community College. Juliet S. Kono is the author of several books: Hilo Rains, Tsunami Years, Ho‘olulu Park and the Pepsodent Smile, The Bravest Opihi, and Anshu, a novel. Widely anthologized and a recipient of several awards, she has retired from teaching. Jean Yamasaki Toyama is professor emerita of French, former Associate Dean of the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature at the UHM. Her latest books include a volume of poetry, Prepositions, and one of short stories, The Piano Tuner’s Wife. She is a Beckett scholar.