Dr. Yasmine Romero, an associate professor of English at the University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu, authored a short story in the recently published book, “New CHamoru Literature.”
“My short story, ‘Maga’leena,’ is based upon my grandmother’s and my ancestors’ experiences of the Battle of Saipan from June 15, 1944, to July 9, 1944,” Romero said. “This collection is unique in that it is representing CHamoru writers for the first time.”
“New CHamoru Literature,” edited by UH Mānoa English professor Craig Santos Perez and published in August by University of Hawai‘i Press, is part of the “Mānoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing” series.
In a description of “New CHamoru Literature” by publisher UH Press, the book highlights an intergenerational selection of 18 emerging, mid-career, and established CHamoru authors. Among the pieces is an extended feature on master storyteller Peter R. Onedera, who explains in his essay, “The Dilemma of an Official Word,” Chamorro, Chamoru, CHamoru are different spellings of the same “description used in reference to Guam’s indigenous people and those in the Marianas archipelago for thousands of years.”
“Within the pages of this rich collection, you will find diverse genres, including poetry, chant, fiction, creative nonfiction, and playwriting,” according to UH Press. … “The themes range from genealogy to identity, colonialism to cultural revitalization, ecological connection to environmental injustice, love to sexual abuse, and belonging to diaspora. This anthology will introduce readers to the Mariana archipelago and the vibrancy of CHamoru literature, culture, histories, migrations, politics, memories, traumas, and dreams.”