Opihi Tales began as a geographical and psychological discovery of the Big Island of Hawaii, and has evolved into an internal exploration of the conflicts between my Hawaiian heritage and American culture, including the hypnotic sway of the American Dream and the heavy hand of Mormonism. Also, permeating my collection are the influences of Plantation culture. Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and Portuguese words and ideas are woven into Opihi Tales as the people themselves have been woven into the lives of the natives they lived and worked beside in the fields. Language is an essential element of Opihi Tales. In order to immerse readers fully in the experiences of my characters, I offer a mix of Hawaiian Pidgin Creole and Standard American English. It is my hope that the reader will see the use of pidgin, not as window dressing, but as a linguistic necessity to my characters\u27 lives and identities
