Meet Our Grantee-Partner: Bamboo Ridge Press
Bamboo Ridge Press is Hawai‘i's longest-running independent literary small press, celebrated for publishing one of the nation's oldest continuously running literary journals.
Writers and co-founding editors at a reading for the 45th Anniversary anthology, Issue #124 of Bamboo Ridge: Journal of Hawaiʻi Literature and Arts. Photo courtesy of Bamboo Ridge Press.
Mission: Bamboo Ridge Press fosters the creation and appreciation of literature and art by, for, and about the people of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
Bamboo Ridge Press was founded in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in 1978 by Eric Chock and Darrell H.Y. Lum, who recognized the need for a publishing outlet to elevate the voices of local writers and create a space for literature that reflects Hawai‘i’s unique cultural diversity. The name comes from a well-known local fishing spot, symbolizing a commitment to place and the community of writers long underrepresented in mainstream literary outlets. The persistence of the fishermen navigating the rocky, often dangerous shore at Bamboo Ridge became a metaphor for the resilience and dedication needed to write and publish stories that challenge dominant narratives.
Bamboo Ridge Press set out with the mission to publish literature that captures Hawai‘i’s multiethnic cultures and perspectives, particularly works that explore identity, immigrant experiences, and the deep connections between land, language, and people. As pioneers of what came to be known as "local literature," Bamboo Ridge Press embraces stories and poems that include a wide range of languages, from Hawai‘i Creole English (or "Pidgin"), to ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i (the Hawaiian language), and words from languages such as Japanese, Ilocano, and others that have shaped the local lexicon.
Bamboo Ridge Press serves a broad audience of readers, writers, and students in Hawai‘i and beyond. Its core constituency includes emerging and established local writers, often from marginalized communities, including Native Hawaiian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander backgrounds. Bamboo Ridge Press also engages a growing diaspora of Hawaiian writers living outside the islands whose inclusion contributes to the broader, evolving narrative of Hawai‘i. The press provides a platform for stories and poems that reflect Hawai‘i’s history, culture, and contemporary challenges, connecting people through shared narratives and stories of place.
Generations of Bamboo Ridge Press writers gathered for the 45th Anniversary celebration of the journal and press. Photo courtesy of Bamboo Ridge Press.
For nearly five decades, the Bamboo Ridge Journal has crafted "literary mischief,” publishing poetry, short stories, essays, and plays. Bamboo Ridge Press also publishes special anthologies that focus on specific themes or genres that seek to engage readers in new ways. For example, the Snaring New Suns anthology explored speculative fiction and poetry, offering Hawai‘i’s writers a chance to envision futures that transcend colonial histories. Since its inception, Bamboo Ridge Press has published 130 issues with more than 1,100 individual writers and artists contributing. In addition to publishing, Bamboo Ridge Press hosts writing workshops and readings that bring together local and international authors, fostering a vibrant literary community.
Poetry has been an integral part of Bamboo Ridge Press’s mission since its founding, serving as a vital force for education, transformation, and connection. From founder Eric Chock’s groundbreaking "Poetry in the Schools" program, which brought published poets into middle and high school classrooms across the islands, to current editor-in-chief Cathy Song inviting nationally and internationally renowned poet Naomi Shihab Nye to guest-edit an anthology, poetry continues to play a central role in shaping Bamboo Ridge Press’ work.
Receiving an Equity in Verse grant from the Poetry Foundation has strengthened Bamboo Ridge Press’s ability to amplify voices from Hawai‘i and the Pacific. It has enabled the expansion of publishing efforts, particularly by offering more opportunities to emerging writers. The recent issue of the journal, Bamboo Ridge #126, features an unprecedented number of new voices, including several writers making their publishing debut.
The grant has also allowed Bamboo Ridge Press to host more programs that engage a wider audience, ensuring that the stories and poems the press publishes resonate beyond Hawai‘i. A recent example is Wing Tek Lum's collection of poetry, The Oldtimers, which imagines life in Chinatown, Honolulu, circa 1900—a history of one of the oldest Chinatowns in the nation that is not well-known or examined.
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