Gary Pak
Encyclopedia
Gary Pak is a writer, editor and professor of English at University of Hawaii
. Pak has been noted as one of the most important Asian Hawaiian writers.
. Pak graduated from Boston University
with a BA and from University of Hawaii
with an MA and a PhD. Growing up in Hawaii, Pak said his first language is Pidgin
English
. "My culture is from Hawaii; my parents’ and grandparents’ generations helped create that culture", he said during an interview with the Magazine of the University of Hawaii.
Some of Pak's novels are based on the true stories from his family. His grandparents fled from Korea
during World War II
and came to the United States
; in 1905, his grandmother worked on a sugar plantation at Hawaii. His novel A Ricepaper Airplane is based on an incident related with his mum in the setting of a sugar plantation. In his short story collection Language of the Geckos and Other Stories, Pak's memorable portraits of Hawai'i's Korean Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Native Hawaiians increases cross-cultural understanding of Hawaiian life and culture.
Pak was also the producer, play writer and editor of the Olelo Community TV series, Plantation Children: 2nd-generation Koreans in Hawai'i.
Pak was a recipient of Fulbright Fellow.
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
. Pak has been noted as one of the most important Asian Hawaiian writers.
Biography
Gary Pak was born and raised in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Pak graduated from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
with a BA and from University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
with an MA and a PhD. Growing up in Hawaii, Pak said his first language is Pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. "My culture is from Hawaii; my parents’ and grandparents’ generations helped create that culture", he said during an interview with the Magazine of the University of Hawaii.
Some of Pak's novels are based on the true stories from his family. His grandparents fled from Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; in 1905, his grandmother worked on a sugar plantation at Hawaii. His novel A Ricepaper Airplane is based on an incident related with his mum in the setting of a sugar plantation. In his short story collection Language of the Geckos and Other Stories, Pak's memorable portraits of Hawai'i's Korean Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Native Hawaiians increases cross-cultural understanding of Hawaiian life and culture.
Pak was also the producer, play writer and editor of the Olelo Community TV series, Plantation Children: 2nd-generation Koreans in Hawai'i.
Pak was a recipient of Fulbright Fellow.
Short stories
- "Hae Soon’s Song", appeared in New Press’ anthology
- "Crossing Into America: The New Literature of Immigration"
Books
- The Watcher of Waipuna, Bamboo Ridge Press, 1992
- A Ricepaper Airplane, University of Hawaii Press, 1998
- Children of a Fireland, University of Hawaii Press, 2004
- Language of the Geckos and Other Stories, University of Washington Press, 2005
Plays
- Beyond the Falls (children's play)
- Plantation Children: 2nd-generation Koreans in Hawaii (TV series)
Selected Awards
- 1992 Elliot Cades Award for The Watcher of Waipuna
- 2004 Book Award in the Prose/Poetry category for Children of a Fireland