Finding Meaning
eBook - ePub

Finding Meaning

Kaona and Contemporary Hawaiian Literature

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Finding Meaning

Kaona and Contemporary Hawaiian Literature

About this book

Winner of the Native American Literature Symposium's Beatrice Medicine Award for Published Monograph

In this first extensive study of contemporary Hawaiian literature, Brandy Nalani McDougall examines a vibrant selection of fiction, poetry, and drama by emerging and established Hawaiian authors, including Haunani-Kay Trask, John Dominis Holt, Imaikalani Kalahele, and Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl. At the center of the analysis is a hallmark of Hawaiian aesthetics—kaona, the intellectual practice of hiding and finding meaning that encompasses the allegorical, the symbolic, the allusive, and the figurative.

With a poet's attention to detail, McDougall interprets examples of kaona, guiding readers through olelo no'eau (proverbs), mo'olelo (literature and histories), and mooku'auhau (genealogies) alongside their contemporary literary descendants, unveiling complex layers of Hawaiian identity, culture, history, politics, and ecology.

Throughout, McDougall asserts that "kaona connectivity" not only carries bright possibilities for connecting the present to the past, but it may also ignite a decolonial future. Ultimately, Finding Meaning affirms the tremendous power of Indigenous stories and genealogies to give activism and decolonization movements lasting meaning.

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Yes, you can access Finding Meaning by Brandy Nalani McDougall in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Literary Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. List of Illustrations
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction. Ola (i) nā Moā€˜olelo: Living Moā€˜olelo
  9. 1. Hiding and Seeking Meaning: Kaona and Kaona Connectivity
  10. 2. Kaona Connectivity to the Kumulipo
  11. 3. Kaona Connectivity to Papa, Wākea, and Hāloa Naka
  12. 4. Kaona Connectivity to Pele and Hiā€˜iaka
  13. Conclusion. Living Moā€˜olelo, Living Decolonial
  14. Notes
  15. Works Cited
  16. Index
  17. About the Author