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Lois-Ann Yamanaka

ロイス＝アン・ヤマナカ

Lois-Ann Yamanaka

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1961-09-07 （Ho'olehua (Molokaʻi), Hawaii, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English, Hawaiian Pidgin
Residence History
Grew up in Pahala, Hawaii (Island of Hawaiʻi) → Resident of Honolulu, Oahu

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet, Teacher
Active Years
1993-
Affiliations
Na'au (writing school, co-owner)
Influenced By
June Jordan, Ai (poet), Thulani Davis, Jessica Hagedorn, William Faulkner (influenced by The Sound and the Fury), Maxine Hong Kingston, Amy Tan

Education

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
College of Education / Department of Education
Degree: Bachelor of Education
Period: 1979-1983
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: United States
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Graduate Division of Education / Department of Education
Degree: Master of Education
Period: 1985-1987
Year of Graduation: 1987
Country: United States

Awards

National Endowment for the Humanities grant
1990
Organization: National Endowment for the Humanities
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize (Poetry)
1993
Work: Saturday Night at the Pahala Theater (selection)
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞
Carnegie Foundation grant
1994
Organization: Carnegie Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts grant
1994
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize
1994
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞
Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award
1996
Organization: Rona Jaffe Foundation
Result: 受賞
Lannan Literary Award
1998
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
Asian American Studies National Book Award
1998
Work: Blu's Hanging
Organization: Asian American Studies
Result: 取り消し（言語使用に関する論争のため）
American Book Award
2000
Work: Heads by Harry
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
Anuenue Award
2024
Work: Snow Angel, Sand Angel
Organization: Anuenue (organization)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Saturday Night at the Pahala Theater

1993 Poetry / Verse novellas

A collection of poems written in Hawaiian Pidgin composed of four verse novellas narrated by working-class Hawaiian teenagers; explores ethnic identity, sexual awakening, drug use, and abusive relationships.

Ethnic identityAdolescenceLocal Hawaiʻi culture

Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers

1996 Short fiction / Coming-of-age

A coming-of-age collection told in Pidgin made up of a series of connected vignettes examining class and ethnicity.

Coming-of-ageClassEthnicity

Blu's Hanging

1997 Novel

A novel set in Hawaiʻi about a family with Filipino and Japanese American backgrounds; provoked controversy over its use of stereotypical language.

FamilyLossInterethnic relations

Heads by Harry

1998 Novel

A novel dealing with gay sexuality and gender identity issues; received mixed reviews.

GenderSexualityFamily

Name Me Nobody

2000 Young adult

A young-adult book illustrating the difficulties of teenhood; vignettes of girlhood praised for vivid images and distilled language.

GirlhoodSelf-discoveryEveryday struggles

Father of the Four Passages

2001 Novel

The Heart's Language

2005 Poetry/Short works

Behold the Many

2006 Novel (spiritual)

Set on Oahu, a spiritual-leaning novel about a young woman haunted by ghosts; described as beautifully tragic.

GhostsGuilt and redemptionSpirituality

Snow Angel, Sand Angel

2022 Novel

Bibliography

  • Saturday Night at the Pahala Theater (1993)
  • Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers (1996)
  • Blu's Hanging (1997)
  • Heads by Harry (1998)
  • Name Me Nobody (2000)
  • Father of the Four Passages (2001)
  • The Heart's Language (2005)
  • Behold the Many (2006)
  • Snow Angel, Sand Angel (2022)

Adaptations

  • Silent Years (short film, 2004)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Colloquial and poetic style using Hawaiian PidginNarrative voice–driven technique emphasizing character speech
Recurring Motifs
Family bonds and ruptureEthnic identityAdolescent struggleLocal Hawaiʻi culture and memoryGhosts/spiritual elements (later works)

Legacy

Lois-Ann Yamanaka is recognized for bringing a Hawaiʻi voice to literature—legitimizing Hawaiian Pidgin on the page—and for portrayals of local culture and Asian American family life. She has received multiple grants and awards, though her work has also prompted controversy over language use.

In Popular Culture

  • The short film 'Silent Years' (2004) was produced based on Yamanaka's poetry.

Quotes

  • “My work involves bringing to the page the utter complexity, ferocious beauty and sometimes absurdity of our ethnic relationships here in the islands.”
    Source: Conversations with American Women Writers (2004) (2004)

Trivia

  • Both parents were school teachers; her father later worked as a taxidermist.
  • Many early works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin.
  • Co-owner of a writing school called Na'au in Honolulu.
  • Following the 1998 award annulment, authors such as Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston publicly supported her.