A Literary Lei [Paperback]

Jim Wageman (Author), Virginia Wageman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004

For generations, Hawaii's flowers and plants have inspired authors, poets, songsmiths and travel writers — from the creation chants of the Kumulipo to the lyrics of the hapa haole classics, from the travelogues of Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson to the verse of today's poets. In this stunning photographic work, award-winning author-designers Jim and Virginia Wageman match excerpts from literature with 50 Island flowers and plants — weaving a unique literary lei of beauty, inspiration and cultural diversity.

A Literary Lei was the recipient of the 2005 Ka Palapala Pookela Award from the Hawaii Book Publishers Association for Excellence in Design.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Not just another pretty gift book

This beautiful book is the last collaboration of the photographer/designer, writer/editor team of Jim and Virginia Wageman. Virginia, who had served as The Advertiser's art critic, died in 2003 at the age of 62. But this was a project begun before Virginia fell ill, selecting Island-based poems and literature to pair with Jim Wageman's photographs of Hawai'i flora. The work is far above the usual run of pretty-with-pretty gift books.

The book is a series of facing-page sets: a photo of a flower or plant, a brief backgrounder on the plant and a thoughtfully chosen bit of good writing.

Widely read and well-traveled, with a deep understanding of both art and literature, veterans of the local book publishing scene, the Wagemans bring all the strains of their knowledge and their aesthetic to the book, and it shows.

The literary excerpts — from both prose and poetry — begin, appropriately, with the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant. But other choices are less predictable: poems by Juliet Kono, Haunani-Kay Trask and other lesser-known writers, snippets of hapa-haole song lyrics, doggerel by Don Blanding, passages from novels as well as history books.

This would, indeed, make a lovely gift for someone who enjoys both literature and nature. --Wanda Adams, ""The Honolulu Advertiser"" (copyright 2005)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Watermark Publishing; 1 edition (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974267252
• ISBN-13: 978-0974267258
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,189,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful journey to Hawaii, March 20, 2007

By 

Makana Risser Chai (Kailua, O'ahu, Hawai'i) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Literary Lei (Paperback)

This award-winning book is a treasure for anyone who loves Hawaii, flowers, or great writing. The pictures are stunning - you can almost feel the texture of the plants and smell the flowers. The literary quotes show how Hawaii and its flora have inspired the great writers who have lived and visited here, and give us a new way to see the plants through their eyes. There is just the right amount of technical information about the plants. Most of all, this book transports you to Hawaii. The book received a Ka Po'okela Palapala Award from the Hawaii Book Publishers Association for design.