Free Writing Workshops Offered to Collect Stories of Filipinos in Hawaii

Free weekend writing workshops are being offered on Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, and Kauai by the Filipino Association of University Women (FAUW). The workshops, to be Mau through September, aim to encourage and document original first-person histories that will contribute to increased understanding of the Filipino experience in Hawaii and its impact on the history and culture of our island state.

The workshop project, “We Tell Our Story: Filipino Voices in Hawaii,” will be followed by public forums to discuss past and contemporary issues raised through the writing process. The workshops are open to those who want to learn how best to write about experiences growing up, living, immigrating, adapting (and more) as Filipinos in Hawaii. The resulting stories will be shared via the public forums to be held in October, Filipino History Month, and in an online anthology made available to schools and the public.

“Despite comprising about 25 percent of Hawaii’s population, Filipino voices in the historical and cultural narratives of our State are almost negligible,” says Bey Lontoc, FAUW president. “By collecting our stories, we can contribute to a more comprehensive appreciation of the many facets present in Hawaii’s diverse communities. We are able to offer our workshops free on four major islands through a grant from the Hawaii Council for the Humanities, through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.”

The workshops will be directed by expert teachers led by Nanette Carreon-Ruhter, an international English teacher who has directed Writing Workshops Across the Curriculum for international schoolteachers in Asia as an accredited consultant for the UC Berkeley Writing Project and the East Asia Writing Project.

Additional resource teachers are Margot Q. Adair, a 30-year teaching veteran from Maryknoll School; Virgie Chattergy, professor emeritus, University of Hawaii College of Education; and Michelle Cruz Skinner, Punahou School English teacher for 24 years and author of three books.

Workshop dates are:

May 31-June 2: Honolulu

July 26 -28: Maui

August 9-11: Big Island (east side)

Kauai to be determined

For more information and to register for the workshops, contact Pepi Nieva 808-225-1219 or Nanette Carreon-Ruhter at nanette48@gmail.com.