Hot off the press! Student-produced books Pueo: Passages and The Last Legwoman: A Novel of Hollywood, Murder…and Gossip! were released by Pueo Press at Windward Community College in early April.
Passages, a compilation of art and literary work, and The Last Legwoman, a murder mystery set in Hollywood, were produced in the ENG 280 Book Production class. Author Penny Pence Smith, who was active for years as a journalist in the entertainment industry, penned The Last Legwoman.
“Despite this awful coronavirus, Windward CC‘s Pueo Press students worked hard to ensure our annual anthology of student, faculty and staff writing would be published,” said Pueo Literary and Art Journal advisor Robert Barclay. “Passages is a beautiful book, and I’m especially proud of all the students whose art and writing made it one of our best issues.”
The official launch of Passages was scheduled for April 30, but has been postponed until the fall semester. Copies of Passages will be available free of charge at Windward CC’s Hale Laʻakea Library Learning Commons and bookstore after the fall launch. The Last Legwoman can be purchased through Amazon.
Other students with books set to launch in the fall include Home: Four Plays by Jan Shiarella McGrath, Songs and Stories—A Sequel by Lizbeth Hartz, KGMB-TV: A Memoir by Rodney Kobayakawa, Weaving My Stories by Amataga Taito, and A Life in Haiku written by Tom Masterson and edited by Waynella McNeil.
The process of publishing
For McNeil, this was her first experience in publishing. Through the ENG 280 course, McNeil and her classmates learned the process of publishing, from reviewing submissions, organizing, editing and integrating art with the pieces, to building the book in Adobe InDesign and finally printing the book.
From her experience working on Passages, McNeil’s next goal is to publish Masterson’s book of haiku. She is currently editing a lifetime of haiku, poetry and short stories that Masterson wrote before his passing last year.
“It has been a real journey for me,” she said. “Emotional. And an absolute pleasure working with my talented and experienced classmates to discover and publish the artistry abounding at Windward CC. We laughed together, shared stories and learned the intricacies of publishing.”
Students enrolled in ENG 280 take part in all editorial, design, layout and production responsibilities in producing the Pueo Press journal.
“Everyone has a voice at the table and a hand in the process. Every class is an exercise in problem-solving and collaboration. It is one of the few classes that provides students with an opportunity to engage in producing (the issue) and promoting (the launch) a real product at the end,” said Assistant Professor Desi Poteet.
—By Bonnie J. Beatson
