daily ~ days & years continue on ~
& Hannah ~ she flies alone to a distant island
to birth a new story. A new bloodline. A new legend.
~ for all lovers ~
Acknowledgments
Aloha. I would like to express my deep gratitude to my dear friend Bushra Rehman for teaching these poems in her writing workshops, and to Nicole Counts for being the most brilliant, insightful, and compassionate editor I could ever ask for.
Deep gratitude to Chris Jackson, Victory Matsui, Ayelet Gruenspecht, Jordan Pace, Mika Kasuga, Oma Beharry, Steve Messina, and everyone else at One World and Penguin Random House who found beauty and truth in this story, for helping me bring this love to a larger audience. My heartfelt thanks to Clare Mao, my amazing agent, for all you do to bless my journey ~ mahalo nui loa sister.
Special thanks to the amazing Kamilah Forbes and the talented DJ Reborn for helping me to bring Angel & Hannah to life from page~to~stage at the New York Hip-Hop Theater Festival, for allowing these poems to dance & breathe, and for creating a loving soundtrack for my sonnets.
Gomapsimnidah to Sunyoung Lee and Juliana Koo of Kaya Press, publishers of my first book, The Temperature of This Water. Saranghe.
Sarang to Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (rest in peace) & her work Dictee, which moved me deeply as a Korean American woman, a line of which (“a stone leaping into the sea”) is loosely referenced in this novel.
Abrazos y amor siempre to Little Nelson Abreu, Nicky Nieves, Irma and Gloria de Jesus (rest in peace), y familia. To Karin Castillo, Mabel Tso, Celinda Casanova, Bianca Gomez, Fay, Wendy Cartagena, Jessica Cruz, Norlene Cayetano, Laarni, Natasha Netto, Kuem-Hee Rhee, Sze Pui Cheng, Sarah Ra, Zola Zakiya, Sonya Payne, and Jeanne Choi ~ my sisters for life! <3 Thank you for growing with me, ladies ~ saranghe. My love always to the Asian American Writers’ Workshop for raising me, and to all the amazing artists, musicians, singers, emcees, and poets through space and time who have inspired me and have influenced my poetry and the writing of this novel. My deepest thanks to You ~
Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Sonia Sanchez, Joy Harjo, Ntozake Shange, Jessica Hagedorn, Arundhati Roy, Maya Angelou, Eric Gamalinda, Oliver de la Paz, Ai, Nas, Lauryn Hill, Oprah, Yasiin Bey, Black Star, Talib Kweli, Kuttin Kandi, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Richard Pryor, Tiffany Haddish, Eddie Murphy, Charlie Murphy, Prince, Ali Wong, Bao Phi, Tina Chang, Jeff Chang, Ed Lin, Alexander Chee, Robert Sullivan, Nick Carbo, Patty Kim, David Mura, Li-Young Lee, Christy NaMee Eriksen, Cathy Park Hong, Emmanuel Ortiz, Momo Chang, Sheng Wang, Joan Osato, James Kass, Lee Herrick, Rain Noe, DJ Boo, Jasmine Choi, Giles Li, Malaya Arevalo, Sonam Wangmo, Hisae Kato, Felicia Hill, Peter Ong, Parag Khandar, Jen Alvarez, Sham-e-Ali Nayeem, Terry Park, Taiyo Na, Sarah Ha, Dennis Sangmin Kim, Danny Thien Le, Sandra Cisneros, Nick Carbó, Breyton Breytenbach, Eileen Tabios, Kristina Wong, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Sade, Lee Tonouchi, Ed Bok Lee, Edward Garcia, Jeannie Wong, Darshan Mendoza, Jade Rajbir Kaur, Kumu Dane Silva, Kumu Ehulani Stephany, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley & family, Jerry Seinfeld, John Lennon, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono, the Beatles, Digable Planets, Nice & Smooth, Shabba Ranks, Black Moon, Black Sheep, Biggie, Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan, Run-DMC, Mary J Blige, Tupac, Beyoncé, Solange, Alicia Keys, Jessica Care Moore, JLo, Janet Jackson, Faith, Shakira, Norah Jones, Carla Bruni, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Steven Tyler, Bret Michaels, Jon Bon Jovi, Sebastian Bach, Björk, Opensouls, Kyu, Jay-Z, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Katchafire, Common Kings, Alex Marley, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Adele, Moby, Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, B. B. King, Fania All Stars, La India, Jerry Rivera, Celia Cruz, Elton John, George Michael, Erasure, Sublime, Bill E-Fluid, Liam de Koster-Kjaer, Mike Hall, Whitney Houston, Nina Simone, Willow Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Andre Merritt, Chloe Flower, Madonna, Jane Kim, Beau Sia, Saul Williams, Paul Flores, Chinaka Hodge, Snoop Dogg, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Pops Mohamed, Chiwoniso Maraire, Maisey Rika, Spike Lee, Issa Rae, Ana Duvernay, Flight of the Conchords, Suheir Hammad, Tamika Harper, Lemon Anderson, Leanna Zuniga, Amelia Perez, Amalia Leticia Ortiz, Mayda del Valle, Black Ice, Staceyann Chin, Flaco Navaja, Poetri, Shihan, Bassey Ikpi, Lynne Procope, Eric Thomas Guerreri, Steve Cannon, Willie Perdomo, Mervyn Taylor, Kamaui Braithwaite, Cheryl Boyce Taylor, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Shakespeare, Petrarch, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Regie Cabico, Fish Vargas, David Velez, Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, Lara Stapleton, Anne Carson, Paule Marshall, Eileen Myles, Susan Ito, Yuri Kochiyama, A Tribe Called Quest, Kimiko Hahn, D’Angelo, Raphael Saadiq, Landon McNamara, Hirie, Pharrell, the Last Poets, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, Shappy, Bob Holman, Jason Mateo, Jason Bayani, Jocelyn De Leon, Ani DiFranco, Rich Ejire (DJ Flood), André 3000, Outkast, Paula Fuga, John Cruz, Cree Summer, Cecilio & Kapono, the Beamers, Anuhea, the Lim family, Ammon Tainui Watene, George Kahumoku, Country Comfort, Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole ~
You have influenced my style, sense of beauty, truth, & cadence. Your art has blessed my life. Mahalo nui loa.
To the loves who have blessed my days & nights ~ forever grateful for You sharing your Spirit with me. A part of You always lives in my heart ~ You are a special song in the soundtrack of my life ~ mahalo nui loa for sharing your aloha. Saranghe.
To Hawai’i — whose waters, wonders, songs, spirit, & aloha still humble & amaze me & give me new Life ~ Forever grateful. Mahalo ke Akua. Aloha ke Akua.
My ancestors. God. Jah. Allah. Buddha. Akua. Our Creator.
To the goddesses ~ Saraswati, Hi’iakaikapoliopele, Pelehonuamea, Kuan Yin, Atargatis, Isis, Ixchel, Yemayá ~ for your sacred magic & beauty.
To my Korean American and Asian American communities. For nurturing, supporting, & sustaining me.
To my parents for giving me Life. For raising me. Forgiving me. For loving me. To Kunemo. For Inspiring me. To my cousins. For the good company. To my grandparents. For watching over me, still
