BY EMILY HARRISON / KALAMALAMA STAFF WRITER
Another poet has arrived at HPU! Who knew Hawaii had so many renounced poets? It’s truly remarkable. I suppose the way of life here, and the nature that engulfs in fever-like dream, is something to try to capture into words.
On Thursday, November 7, 2024, we celebrated Wing Tek Lum’s third collection of poetry, The Oldtimers, where Lum imagines life in Honolulu, mainly Chinatown, focused in the 1900’s.
Lum gives voice to the forgotten pioneer generations of journeyers and settlers, detailing the trials and temptations of this bachelor society living far from their homeland
Introduction:
“Wing Tek Lum is the author of Expounding the Doubtful Points and The Nanjing Massacre, both published by Bamboo Ridge Press. His third collection of poetry, The Oldtimers, imagines life in Honolulu Chinatown circa 1900. Lum gives voice to the forgotten pioneer generation of sojourners and settlers, detailing the trials and temptations of this bachelor society living far from their homeland—their hard work, their diversions, their challenges, and, even amidst the notorious plague and fire, their perseverance. ”- McMahon
“Full of wisdom and insights earned from a life of paying attention, these wonderful poems draw on memory and proceed by an earnest storytelling in an unassuming and understated tone in order to restore an individual voice to its rightful context of culture and, beyond that, cosmic inheritance.”
— Li-Young Lee, author of The Invention of the Darling and co-translator of Dao De Jing
Readings:
Before our class, and presentation started, Wing quizzed me and my fellow Wanderlust staff about his pieces we were assigned to read. I thought that was a little peculiar, but I can appreciate him wanting us to know the material a little before his presentation.
He also asked us what we have learned about the publication of a literary magazine, this far into the semester.
He read to us a couple of his pieces, and briefed us on the organization of his piece “Oldtimers”
Some of the readings included:
At dusk-
A very dramatic reading. It was obvious to me how passionate he is about his work. It was clear wo hes been there, put himself in this place, seen this story play out a thousand-times… it’s obvious he can see the value in China town.
He explained how this collection has 6 sections within it. And he continued to read a few pieces from each section.
“In the mis 1800s young men left their villages for weeks and were separated from their families for years. Perhaps they tried to return…” – Lum
He collected pieces from stories of other family members.
This next piece speaks to us about a young girl thinking about her father in the islands, hundreds of miles away from home. This piece brings in a lot of emotion towards the curious and observational empathy of a girl about her father so far away, noticing the stress he does not express in his words, but she can see it in the photograph.
The letter-
This piece tried to make me cry. I love when a piece is emotional enough to bring tears to my eyes. This pieces did a wonderful job expressing the sorrow and tragedy that can be sealed within an envelope
The sugar cane plantation
- This piece touched on the hard labor that burdened the sugar cane farmers, and emphasized what little appreciation there is in the work.
In the store-
- Portrayed the complicated, yet seemingly simple, life that befalls the general store in China town. It demonstrated how each individual has a story, complicated, simple, intriguing, desperate…. There are many stories within this simple shop.
The fire-
- Discussed the devastating events that occurred with the fire in China town in the 1900’s. The churches burned. The lives lost, the madness that came from humanity, to gather what was truly important…
Five minutes-
- This poem touched on how the plague was contacted- what was burned and condemned – discusses the tragedy of separation, camps, and the continuation of disease
Truth be told-
- Spoke on the accusations and of the wives and the hungry men watching and using the prostitutes
The daughter of the mountains-
- This pieces soke of the hidden love for a native of the islands. A teacher, traveling, admired every aspect about her, yet never spoke up about his feelings, or did he…
The world-
- This piece was his personal view about getting old. How you realize things you take for granted start to disappear. His barber died, his best friend moved to a different island, his favorite restaurant closed… “I did not now the world would leave me first” – Lum
Questions and interviews:
“flesh turned into word” – Lum
He has four stages of writing:
- Research about specific ideas or random readings
- Peculating idea, that stays with him
- Word vomit, a couple of lines are written or several
- Revision
Research:
He asked his family about times back then, some of these poems are personal narratives from family, friends, and of course further research.
“We forget about the elders, that didn’t have family to pass on their love to. They were just bachelors who lived to be old, who died or were forgotten about. No body visits their grave, nobody knows them.” – Lum
So, the reason he wrote Oldtimers was to research their lives and give them a story.
What made it China town specific?
In the 1990’s he came across a poem, read and wrote more, he got distracted by another project. He spent fifteen years writing 104 poems about the massacre in Hawaii, which was the main focus on his 2nd collection.
So, he was writing different poems, and he first came up with “the store,” and rolled with the idea, so from 2015-2022 he wrote exclusively on the subject, the idea became more interesting, and the research became thorough.
It helped him to just concentrate on this material, he did branch off, but that was okay.
Questions:
Q- What poem could describe him and his career
- For this book- “The Store” is one of his favorites, the first poem he read to us, “At Dusk” was also one of his favorites from this collection, but he can’t pick one from his whole career.
Q- Were you working on the plague research when the covid pandemic began in 2020?
- Yes. They fell off each other, looking at the comparisons on what people had to endure, and contractions (like fire and camps).
Q- Can you describe to us what Bamboo Ridge is all about?
Bamboo Ridge is a publishing company, founded here in Hawaii. It is a literary collection that alternates between publishing a traditional magazine with multiple writers, and a collection of one writer.
There are many challenges to publishing literary magazines, and they are lucky to be able to come out with two issues per year.
Typically, they alternate between a regular literary journal and then a collection by a single author. Typically, but not always.
The editor and chief, and fellow workers, are who makes the budget cuts for the editing and publications.
Their editor decides if they like a certain manuscript, and if they do, they will add it to the line up (the next works to be published).
Each issue typically publishes about 35 authors who may or may to have more than one piece in the edition.
It is a source that anyone can submit their work to, so it’s always worth a shot!
