Museum Hosts Sept. 12 Storytelling Workshop with Hawaiʻi Novelist
The Pacific Tsunami Museum welcomes the community to a Sept. 12 storytelling workshop with Hawaiʻi novelist Alicia Upano, whose Hilo-based book, Everything to the Sea, published nationally this summer.
Storytelling is a core part of the mission of the Pacific Tsunami Museum (PTM), which has collected more than 700 oral histories of tsunami survivors since its 1994 inception. According to PTM Executive Director Cindi Preller, stories have the power to save lives by teaching the community about tsunamis and showcasing resilience.
Upano’s novel, Everything to the Sea, follows the aftermath of a fictional Hilo tsunami. The book is a literary love story, but it is also a story about community, grief, and rebuilding.
“My research began with the resources created by the Pacific Tsunami Museum and its co-founder, Walt Dudley, and I’m so grateful,” says Upano. “My hope is that the workshop can aid those interested in capturing or sharing their stories—realistic or fantastical, tragic or comic—while also benefitting the museum and community.”
The Sept. 12 workshop runs from 3:30-5 p.m. and is open to any who are interested in stories, ranging from nonfiction to fiction. The workshop includes a brief lecture, writing prompts, and discussion, with a drinks-and-pūpū reception to follow. Suggested donation for the workshop is $20, with all proceeds to benefit the PTM.
Learn more and RSVP at: https://tsunami.org/events/