Joe Balaz


Hawaiian Concrete Poetry

                  Akualele

Ola

Elua Pololia

Ukolehe Ukulele

Waikiki


Notes

Akualele Ola Elua Pololia Ukolehe Ukulele Waikiki

Akualele are gods that flew through the air, sometimes in the form of fireballs. On various occasions they were sent to destroy. Lele means to fly. This piece speaks to the rampant gun violence in the United States. Life. The L within this piece represents the union of man and woman. The title of this piece means Two Jellyfish. Maoli is native or indigenous. Hapa means portion or part. It can also mean of mixed blood. Haole is the word for Caucasian or foreigner. This is a fertility piece that intertwines and visually plays with the popular string instrument the ukulele. Ule is the word for penis. Kohe is the word for vagina. A visual commentary of the overdeveloped tourist mecca. It asks the question, Why? Money is the overwhelming answer.

Joe Balaz writes in Hawaiian Islands Pidgin (Hawai'i Creole English) and in American English. He edited Ho'omanoa: An Anthology of Contemporary Hawaiian Literature.

Balaz is an avid supporter of Hawaiian Islands Pidgin writing in the expanding context of World Literature. He presently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
 
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