A graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi – Hilo, Umialiloa Harding is studying sustainable science at the University of Hawaiʻi – Maui College.  A native of Makawao, Umi works as a microbiologist for the County of Maui.  He has been published in Maui Collegeʻs annual literary review, Na Leo 2014, and in Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 at Pūpū A ʻO ʻEwa Native Hawaiian Writing and Arts.  The Naming and Hattieʻs Passing are the first two chapters of his first work-in-progress, a semi-autobiographical novel entitled The Little Green Man of Mount Waiʻaleʻale.

Umi is inspired by his personal experiences as a recovering addict, and writing is his passion.  He writes:

Our Hawaiian culture is rich in history that has been passed down through the generations by story-telling.  Whether by the graceful hands of a hula dancer or the resonating sound of an oli, our people have told their stories for centuries.

This is my humble advice to all Hawaiians who want to express themselves: find that thing that you are most passionate about, then cultivate it!  Let everything you do in your life slowly begin to center around that thing until it becomes something tangible and real.

Pūpū A ʻO ʻEwa is pleased to feature Umialiloa Harding.

 

Credit: Post feature image from “Ka Aha Ula O Kamehameha” by Brook Kapukuniahi Parker, oil on canvas (2012)