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Kirby Wright (1959 - )
added by gordito
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Kirby Wright is an American writer best known for his coming of age island novel PUNAHOU BLUES and the epic novel MOLOKA'I NUI AHINA, which is based on the life and times of Wright's paniolo grandmother. Both novels deal with the racial tensions between haoles (whites) and the indigenous Hawaiians, and illustrate the challenge for characters who, as the product of mixed-race marriages, must try to bridge the two cultures and overcome prejudice from both camps.
Wright's work is primarily concerned with the complexities of multicultural Hawaii, Killahaole Day, prejudices against (and within) island high schools, and the tricky matter of interracial dating. He incorporates the local creole language into his novels and was the first author to document the pidgin English spoken by the paniolo cowboys on the east end of Molokai.
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Kirby Wright is an American writer best known for his coming of age island novel PUNAHOU BLUES and the epic novel MOLOKA'I NUI AHINA, which is based on the life and times of Wright's paniolo grandmother. Both novels deal with the racial tensions between haoles (whites) and the indigenous Hawaiians, and illustrate the challenge for characters who, as the product of mixed-race marriages, must try to bridge the two cultures and overcome prejudice from both camps.
Wright's work is primarily concerned with the complexities of multicultural Hawaii, Killahaole Day, prejudices against (and within) island high schools, and the tricky matter of interracial dating. He incorporates the local creole language into his novels and was the first author to document the pidgin English spoken by the paniolo cowboys on the east end of Molokai.
But besides the racial issues, Wright is also concerned with dysfunctional families, especially the impact a parent or grandparent has on a child's psyche. In MOLOKA'I NUI AHINA, it is the grandmother's constant comparisons of the oldest grandson to her son that eventually undermines their relationship and destroys love. In PUNAHOU BLUES, a domineering father and weak mother systematically damage their sons' confidences and, if effect, create alienated boys who struggle to come to gripes with any sense of self-worth.
gordito March 18th, 2008 01:03 PM PST