Poetry and Pidgin — a match made in Hawai’i. Many know Lee Tonouchi as ‘Da Pidgin Guerilla,’ but he now has a new title: state poet laureate.
Tonouchi will spend the next three years traveling around the islands for readings and workshops.
HPR sat down with Tonouchi to talk about his career, which he has dedicated to advocating for Hawaiʻi Pidgin.
After delivering a reading of his poem titled “Pidgin on Trial,” Tonouchi shared how his passion for poetry and Pidgin advocacy began.
“In the real world, I hear all these words that exist, you know, like ‘da kine,’ try like ‘bumbai, hammajang.’ But then I was wondering, oh, how come when I write, how come we cannot use all these words, right?” Tonouchi explained.
“My goal is for try and reach the voices that's marginalized, yeah, like, the voices... the people who never dreamed that they could be writers kind of like me.”
This story aired on The Conversation on March 6, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
