Celebrate National Poetry Month With Pasifika Collections

April means the blooming of fresh flowers, the rich aroma of freshly fallen rain, longer days accommodating shorter nights and of course, a Da Shop favorite: National Poetry Month! We love any excuse to celebrate poetry, so the month of April holds a special place in our hearts (and our bookshelves). Whether you’re new to poetry or a poet yourself, Da Shop: Books + Curiosities is pleased to stock a diverse selection of poetry collections and anthologies for readers of all tastes and preferences. We are especially proud of our curated selection of poetry from across the Pacific Islands, which highlights vital Pasifika voices, communities and stories.

If there’s one thing April reminds us, it’s that we could all use a bit more poetry in our lives. If you’re unsure where to start reading, take a look at some of our favorite recommended titles.

SEE ALSO: Writing Into Peril: A Conversation With Local Author Jessie Ren Marshall

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

Night Is a Sharkskin Drum

by Haunani-Kay Trask

“The poetry is beautiful and brutal, subtle and direct, courageous and respectful—but most of all, it is honest. The poet’s deep and profound love for her country and people is central to the work.” –Reina Whaitiri

Widely regarded as one of Hawai‘i’s most influential voices, Haunani-Kay Trask was a passionate Hawaiian activist, educator and author, and we are honored to champion her second and final collection Night Is a Sharkskin Drum. Rich with mana and unparalleled lyricism, the poems in Night Is a Sharkskin Drum reflect the violence endured by her ancestral land at the hands of tourism, militarism and urbanization. The work is honest, painful, haunting and deeply necessary. From an incantation to goddess Pele to a precise indictment of empire, Trask’s poems ultimately serve to honor her ancestors and her ‘āina.

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

Pidgin Eye

by Joe Balaz

“In Pidgin Eye, Balaz collects 35 years of his poetry written in Pidgin. His poems are funny and lyrical and feature themes of history, protest and the love of the land.” –Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

A talented poet and lifelong advocate for Hawaiian and Pidgin literature, Wahiawa-raised Joe Balaz is at his height with Pidgin Eye. This exciting poetry collection sees 35 years of Balaz’s writing collected in a phenomenal volume that honors and uplifts Hawai‘i’s voices, lives and stories. With all of its poems written in Pidgin, Pidgin Eye is also a celebration of the language so intimately braided into the fabric of Hawai‘i, offering lyrical meditations with strong attention to humor, history and aloha ‘āina. A passionate and memorable work by one of Hawai‘i’s acclaimed poets.

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

passages in between i(s)lands

by Audrey Brown-Pereira

“These are poems of a quiet and full heart, woven vividly with sounds, emotion and colours from memory and experience.” –Letuimanu‘asina Dr. Emma Kruse Va‘ai

A stunning collection of poetry and incredible storytelling, passages in between i(s)lands moves between the cosmic and the intimate while announcing itself as a leading text in Pasifika poetry. Author Audrey Brown-Pereira, a poet of Samoan, Cook Islands and Maori descent, writes profoundly of plural histories and identities, navigating the lands of Samoa, the Cook Islands, Aotearoa and the U.S. A self-proclaimed “word player,” Brown-Pereira plays with the concept of i(s)lands to ask after Pacific womanhood, motherhood and identity in a creative and unforgettable meditation.

SEE ALSO: HONOLULU Book Awards

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

from unincorporated territory [åmot]

by Craig Santos Perez

“Proudly polylingual, as lyrical as it is outraged, from unincorporated territory [åmot] is poetry as fierce medicine.” –National Book Awards Judges Citation

Winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Poetry, from unincorporated territory [åmot] is a stunning collection by CHamoru poet Craig Santos Perez, and the fifth in his ongoing from unincorporated territory series honoring his homeland of the western Pacific Guåhan (Guam). Exploring the word “åmot,” CHamoru for “medicine,” Perez plays with experimental and visual poetry to probe the communal traumas of colonialism, militarism, and migration. Perez is also a Professor in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, where he plays a pivotal role in mentoring Hawai‘i’s next generation of poets.

Da Shop: Books + Curiosities, 3565 Harding Ave., open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (808) 421-9460, dashophnl.com, @dashophnl