Pulitzer poet pays
homage to isles
with ‘Folding Cliffs’Folding Cliffs : A Narrative of 19th-century Hawaii By W.S. Merwin, 331 pages, $25, Random House
By Suzanne Tswei
Special to the Star-Bulletin
Climbing in the dark she felt the small stones turn
along the spine of the path whose color kept rising in her mind
burned-in color moment of rust dried blood color other color
gone color by day and she knew what color was there
when she could not see it and when one of the stars was the darkness
Before any breath of daylight and the way was in her feet again
the star of Kao'ea rushed between clouds when the dawn wind
came toward her down across the ridges of the mountain
carrying the scent of water from the peak of Waialeale
-- "The Folding Cliffs: A narrative of 19th-century Hawaii" by W.S. Merwin
PI'IlLANI is climbing the cliffs of Kauai to the secret place where she buried her husband Ko'olau, a famed cowboy stricken with Hansen's disease, a loving husband and father who defied government order that he be separated from his family and exiled to Kalaupapa, an outlaw who killed a sheriff and pursuing soldiers to avoid capture.So begins the epic poem of love, suffering and noble deeds by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin based on a 100-year-old true Hawaiian story. It is a tale of legendary proportions in Kauai's folklore, told countless times with embellished details. It also became a book of melodrama and sensational inaccuracies by Jack London.
Merwin tells it with simple and lyrical words in a narrative poem, a 331-page work of fiction that remains faithful to historical details gathered during two years of research.
In a rare public appearance tomorrow, the 71-year-old Merwin, who seldom ventures from his Maui home, will read from his book for the first time -- and likely the only time -- in Hawaii, on the lawn of the Mission House Museum in Honolulu.
(The Hawaii reading also is special in a way that may not be obvious. Fees for public readings are a major source of his income, but Merwin, who by no means is a rich man, is doing this one for free.)
"I found the story years ago, and it impressed me enormously. I couldn't get it out of my mind, and I carried it around in my head for 10 or 12 years, thinking about what could be done with the story," Merwin says.
"The True Story of Kaluaiko'olau, or Ko'olau the Leper" was first published in Hawaiian by John G.M. Sheldon, also known as Kahikina Kelekona. The Hawaiian account was translated into English by Frances N. Frazier, author and Hawaiian scholar who lives on Kauai.
Ko'olau was a talented cowboy on Kauai, married to the beautiful Pi'ilani. He contracted the much-feared Hansen's disease at a time when people believed it to be contagious and without effective medical treatment. The government ordered all those stricken to be removed to an area on the northern side of Molokai, known as Kalawao which also came to be called the grave of living corpses.
The Hawaiians called the dreaded disease ma'i Pake, the Chinese sickness, as they believed it came with the Chinese immigrants. They also called it ma'i ho'oka'awale, the separating disease.
"You know what the Hawaiians thought about it because their name for the disease in Hawaiian meant the separating disease. That was the one thing -- the isolation -- that was the worst thing about it. It wasn't dying from the disease," Merwin says.
Rather than divide the family, Ko'olau decided to flee into the mountains with his family to join a band of like-minded fugitives living in isolated Kalalau Valley. Without thoughts for her own safety, Pi'ilani went on the difficult journey, caring for her husband and their young son, Kaleimanu, who also came down with the disease, until their deaths.
Pi'ilani lived alone in hiding for some time before making her way back to Kekaha where she later told the story.
"That is a woman of character," Merwin says, "I feel great admiration for all of them. I think that when people make a determined stand for a reason I respect in the face of great suffering and obvious great loss, this is quite noble."
Although the story is universal with themes of human dignity and love, it also is uniquely Hawaiian.
"I was very cautious when I set out to write it," Merwin says, "after all, I am not Hawaiian, although my sympathies are very much with the Hawaiian people. But I don't think it's a good idea to come in and start exploiting Hawaiian material just because one happens to be here."
Merwin, who has been described as the foremost poet of our time and winner of numerous prestigious awards, wrote the book as a tribute to Hawaii, his adopted home.
Born in New York and educated at Princeton, Merwin has traveled throughout Europe and lived in France, England, Portugal, Spain and on the island of Majorca. He has made his home on Maui since 1976, although he still visits France where he maintains a residence.
"I feel very much at home here. I love being in this place," Merwin says, noting that he loves his Maui country surroundings and not the fast-paced city settings in Hawaii.
Merwin and his wife both have taken a keen interest in all things Hawaiian. They studied Hawaiian language through all the courses offered at the Maui Community College and they are devoted to growing rare Hawaiian palms in their garden. They also have been politically active, taking firm stands in protecting Hawaii's natural environment.
"I am really disheartened by what's happening in Hawaii, the ecological destruction, the destruction of the Hawaiian culture, sort of the general homogenization of Hawaii. I find that very disappointing," Merwin says.
"I think there was something very remarkable here both in the culture and in the ecology. And it's been treated with disrespect from the beginning, and it's still being treated with disrespect. I suppose you can say that 'Folding Cliffs' is my attempt to treat the place with respect."
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