Songs from Wayne Kaumualii Westlake's Poems
Inspired by the late Wayne Kaumualii Westlake's “Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki," our project consists of 26 original and unique songs by musicians, composers, and poets from Aotearoa/New Zealand to Cordoba, Argentina. Artists include (in order of appearance): Imaikalani Kalahele; Wendell Ing & Hawaii Island Friends; Hans Keoni Wilhelm, Ryan Oishi, Richard Hamasaki, Amy Yamashiro, Daren Kamali, Grace Taylor, Fred Ho, Nana Soul (aka Iyanna Jones), Sia Figiel, Three Fried Men (featuring Chris King), Teresia Teaiwa, Vaitoa Mallon, Judge Nothing, John Pule, Key of Dirty (featuring Kimo Armitage and Micky Huihui), Augusto Alcalde, Daniel Pak (leader singer for Kore Ionz), Hinemoana Baker, Christine White, Babatunji Health, Lydia Muawesi, Robert C. Goetz, and Kenneth Gofigan Kuper.
In an all too brief life and literary career, Wayne Kaumualii Westlake (1947-1984) produced a substantial body of poetry consisting of hundreds of short poems and longer narrative pieces. He broke new ground as a concrete poet, translated Taoist classical literature and Japanese haiku, interwove perspectives from his Hawaiian heritage into his writing and art, and indefatigably published his poetry in small presses and anthologies in Hawaii and abroad. Westlake died in Hilo Hospital on February 16, 1984 at the age of 36, two weeks after his car was struck by an allegedly drunken driver.
In 2001, seventeen years after Wayne's death, his companion and literary executor, Mei-Li M. Siy, gathered and organized many of his manuscripts and papers that had been lying for years in boxes, stored in a shed near her family home in Hawaii. In 2009, the University of Hawaii Press published Westlake: Poems by Wayne Kaumualii Westlake (1947-1984).
This 2013 CD project is a fresh launching point - yet another memorial to Westlake and a reminder to persevere creatively and collectively despite much adversity and struggle.
NFS: Due to a limited amount of CDs that will be produced, the actual compact disk will NOT be for sale!
Additional Initiatives
Our CD will allow us to share 26 songs as a soundtrack for two more projects. We want to make 26 short movies based on this soundtrack of Wayne's poems. Also, we'll be organizing a 2014 Westlake Art Invitational in Honolulu featuring visual interpretations of Wayne's poems and our songs from "Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki." Ultimately, we envision that the Westlake manuscripts will be archived at the Hawaiian and Pacific Collection at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
SNEAK PEEK: LISTEN TO A SONG FROM THE ALBUM, TRACK #11 "Out of My Mind" by poet, novelist and painter Sia Figiel:
We know that money is tight. You can kōkua (assist, support, aid) by reading and sharing Wayne's book (at your local library or order it online from the University of Hawaii Press). You can also kōkua with our forthcoming projects (see above). Most importantly, please share this Indiegogo link.
For more details about our CD, hit: https://redfleablog.wordpress.com
