Tsunami Years

Poetry. Juliet S. Kono's second book, TSUNAMI YEARS, packs an unexpectedly hard poetic punch. From the first section, which grips you in the hilariously poignant caring for a mother-in-law with Alzheimer's Disease, to the ending section where another kind of madness drives a son over the edge, you will feel the rush of emotional waves that more than matches the real tsunami poems in between. This is a book for real people to read.

ANSHU is Juliet S. Kono's first novel. Her previous publications include two books of poetry, HILO RAINS and TSUNAMI YEARS; a collaborative work of linked poems with three other poets, NO CHOICE BUT TO FOLLOW; a short story collection, HONOLULU PARK AND THE PEPSODENT SMILE; and a children's book, The Bravest 'Opihi. The recipient of several awards, including the US/Japan Friendship Commission Creative Artist Exchange Fellowship, she has been anthologized widely, most recently in Imagine What It's Like: A Literature and Medicine Anthology. In 2006, she won the Hawai'i Award for Literature. Born and raised in Hilo, Hawai'i, she now lives in Honolulu with her husband and teaches composition and creative writing at Leeward Community College.