World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Garrett Kaoru Hongo

ギャレット・カオル・ホンゴ

Garrett Kaoru Hongo

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1951-05-30 （Volcano, Hawai'i, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Volcano, Hawai'i → California (Pomona College / UC Irvine) → Eugene, Oregon (University of Oregon)

Career

Occupations
poet, professor
Active Years
1978-
Affiliations
University of Oregon
Influenced By
Japanese American history and community

Education

Pomona College
Country: United States
Attended undergraduate study; exact years/degree details unclear
University of Michigan
Degree: BA
Country: United States
Attendance related to undergraduate degree (sources indicate BA)
University of California, Irvine
English
Degree: MFA
Country: United States
Received an MFA in English

Awards

Pulitzer Prize (finalist)
1988
Work: The River of Heaven
Category: 詩
Organization: Pulitzer Prize committee
Result: ファイナリスト
Oregon Book Award (Literary Nonfiction)
2006
Work: Volcano: A Memoir of Hawai'i
Category: ノンフィクション（回想録）
Organization: Oregon Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Lamont Poetry Selection (Academy of American Poets)
1988
Work: The River of Heaven
Category: 詩
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: 選定
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
NEA Fellowship
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Rockefeller Fellowship
Organization: Rockefeller Foundation
Result: 受賞
Watson Foundation Fellowship
Organization: Watson Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Buddha Bandits down Highway 99

1978 Poetry

An early collection of poems addressing Japanese American experience, landscape, movement, and memory.

Japanese American historymemorylandscape

Yellow Light

1982 Poetry

A collection exploring youthful sensibility intertwined with historical themes; an early notable work.

familymemoryidentity

The River of Heaven

1988 Poetry

A major collection that delves poetically into Japanese American history and personal experience. It was a Lamont Poetry Selection and a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

community historymemoryloss and inheritance

Volcano: A Memoir of Hawai'i

1995 Memoir / Nonfiction

A memoir reflecting on the author's Hawaiian origins and family history. Later received the Oregon Book Award.

homefamily historyland and memory

Coral Road: Poems

2011 Poetry

A mature collection that sensitively depicts personal and cultural memory alongside landscape.

memoryplacemultigenerational narratives

The Mirror Diary: Selected Essays

2017 Essays

A selected essays volume discussing poetics, personal history, and cultural issues.

poeticscultural memoryself-expression

The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo

2022 Memoir

A recent memoir centered on music and memory.

musicmemorypersonal history

Bibliography

  • The Buddha Bandits down Highway 99
  • Yellow Light
  • The River of Heaven
  • The Open Boat: Poems from Asian America (editor)
  • Volcano: A Memoir of Hawai'i
  • Coral Road: Poems
  • The Mirror Diary: Selected Essays
  • The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyric, evocative poeticsnarrative that intersects history and personal experience
Recurring Motifs
memorylandscape of homeimmigrant / Japanese American experience

Legacy

Garrett Hongo has articulated Japanese American history and personal experience through poetry and memoir, occupying an important place in contemporary American poetry. He has been recognized as a Pulitzer finalist and Oregon Book Award winner, and has long taught and mentored students.

Trivia

  • He is Yonsei (fourth-generation Japanese American).
  • Finalist for the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for The River of Heaven.
  • Volcano: A Memoir of Hawai'i won the 2006 Oregon Book Award (Literary Nonfiction).
  • Served as Guest Editor of Poem-a-Day in May 2025.
  • Has two children.