Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 11, 1 November 1988 — Local Themes Color Readings By Hawaiian Poet Joe Balaz [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Local Themes Color Readings By Hawaiian Poet Joe Balaz

Readings by Hawaiian poet Joe Balaz are scheduled this month on November 5 in Kahului, Maui and November 19 in Hilo. Balaz, a prolific and award-winning published poet, will be reading new material that reflects his experimenting with different styles, unjversal and Hawaiian themes. Balaz will be at the Artful Dodger bookstore in Kahului at 7 p.m., and at the East Hawai'i Cultural Center in Hilo at 7 p.m.

The readings are part of a new state-supported series in whieh major Hawai'i writers are able to give presentations on different islands. The series is sponsored by the Hawai'i Literary Arts Council, with support from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Balaz was bom in Wahiawa and attended Leilehua High School. He drew upon his experiences in two recent literary contests. In 1985 he won the Poetry on The Bus contest for his graphic art/poem entry entitled "No Moking." He also won the 1986 Kumu Kahua/University of Hawai'i Drama Department playwriting contest with his first short play, "Da Seventh Dimension." Balaz explains, "Both creative pieces deal with islandpidgin, and the play especially expands upon the complexities of language and communication, using island pidgin as a contact vernacular in the argument for and against billingualism." Balaz is author of After the Drought, a book of poetry published by Topgallant Press in 1985. He is editor of a soon-to-be published anthology of Hawaiian writers by Topgallant Press. He is also editor and publisher of Ramrod, a multi-cultural literary publication established in 1980 and published through Iron Bench Press. Ramrod concentrates on works by Hawai'i writers, but also includes some from the South Pacific. Its eighth issue is due out in several months. Recent issues have been funded through a grant from the Hawaiian Cultural Research Foundation. Balaz' poetry has been published in several loeal literary publications including Hawai'i Reuiew, and Chaminade Literary Reuiew. He has been featured along with his poetry in three recent films, including the musical program "Hawaiian Soul," whieh has received national distribution on public television, and the recent "Aloha 'Aina" concert film.

Joe Balaz