Growing up as part of the Native Hawaiian diaspora means constantly navigating the space between two worlds. It means holding onto your roots while living miles away from the pae ʻāina. Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams is an up-and-coming talent who deftly captures that delicate, emotional balance. Named “a new voice to watch” by Kirkus Reviews, her poetry weaves images of modern life with inherited indigenous wisdom.
Welcome, Kaua! For those who havenʻt met you yet, please tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams, and I am an author and poet of Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, and European descent originally from the Pacific Northwest. Today, I live in North County San Diego with my lovely husband, Charlie and our two pups, Guava and Lei.
I earned my BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Washington (Go Dawgs!) and my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
I’ve published poems and short stories in several different anthologies and collections, including my poem, HAWAIIAN BABY FOOD CIRCA 1997 which was a finalist for the 2024 Steve Kowit Poetry Prize and my short story in verse, BRAVING THE STORM, which appears in the Printz Award anthology Legendary Frybread Drive-In (Heartdrum). My debut novel, AN EXPANSE OF BLUE (Heartdrum), hit shelves on May 19.
When I am not writing, I am a haumana hula (hula student) as well as the Director of Programs for a local non-profit that provides access to Native Hawaiian cultural education to the San Diego County community. I also enjoy sitting in the sun, daydreaming, taking the occasional hot yoga class, eating cheese and crackers for dinner, and spoiling my dogs rotten.
Love it! Do you consider yourself an author or a poet? How did you know that you had such a talent for creative expression? Did you always want to write?
I like to think of myself as a storyteller and poet first and an author second, because it is my career as an author which allows me to pursue my passion for telling stories and writing poetry.
I think that many authors, especially debut authors such as myself, struggle with Imposter Syndrome. So it is hard for me to point to a time when I discovered my talent for creative expression because I am still trying to convince myself that I do have a talent for it! I will say though, the time that I have felt most proud of my ability to tell stories was when I started getting messages in response to my short story in verse, BRAVING THE STORM. A lot of Native readers reached out to me to let me know they felt really seen by that story, which is the highest compliment I can receive.
And YES, I have always known I wanted to write. I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. Publishing a book of my own has been a lifelong dream. I am so humbled and honored that I get to see that dream come to fruition.
I love your poem, BRAVING THE STORM, in the multi-award winning anthology edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith. I admit that when Papa encourages Nohealani to “go be brave,” I was so touched, I started bawling. Can you talk about this poem and how it came about? Are you more like Marley or Nohealani (or both? Or neither?)
I am so sorry I made you cry! To be honest, I cried a lot when I wrote that part too.
I wrote BRAVING THE STORM to honor the memory of my own papa who passed away in 2019. This story was a personal one, which made it both easy and difficult to write. I had to reckon with a lot of my own lasting grief around the death of my grandfather and find a way to channel it into a story for young readers. Writing the story in verse really helped me achieve that goal. When I’m writing poetry, I find it so much easier to be vulnerable and honest.
Oh, I am totally a Marley! I love to make lists, I can get quite anxious sometimes, and I absolutely hate driving in the rain. But Nohealani is who I think I am in the process of becoming. Someone who feels fear but chooses to be brave anyways, someone who embraces their Hawaiian name, and someone who loves their kūpuna fiercely and refuses to let their memory fade even once they are gone.
Your debut YA book, AN EXPANSE OF BLUE, earned a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly – congratulations! Without giving too much away, what is it about?
Mahalo nui loa! AN EXPANSE OF BLUE is a young adult verse novel about 17-year-old Aouli Elizabeth Smith’s journey towards self-discovery, cultural reconnection, and first love in the wake of uncovering a heartbreaking secret about her father.
What characteristics do you love about the protagonist? Is she modeled after someone specific?
I know I am biased, but I love everything about Aouli. I especially love her humor, her angst, her desire for freedom, and her deep appreciation for her culture, her ancestors, and her kūpuna.
In some ways I modeled her after myself as a teenager. An advisor of mine at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Jennifer Ziegler, told me once that it was impossible not to put a little bit of ourselves into every character that we write. I think that touch of oneself in the art they create is really what brings it to life. I will say I think Aouli is much braver than I ever was but her innate longing for connection is definitely one I identify with and used to shape her emotional arc through the story.
Is there a particular scene or passage you’re incredibly proud of?
Definitely the Stations of the Cross scene. I based each poem off of different stations (though I purposefully didn’t include every station because there are…a lot!). Using the steps of Jesus’ journey to shape Aouli’s own moment of transformation forced me to really think about each poem in a way I hadn’t yet in the writing process thus far. The outcome made for one of my favorite scenes in the whole book.
What surprising discoveries did you make during the writing process?
That it is okay to let your characters speak for themselves. Sometimes, as authors, we really want our characters to do something specific. But a lot of times, they’re going to push back! Let them, follow their voice, allow the story to unfold how it must rather than how you think it should.
What was your favorite part of writing your novel?
Getting to play with space and layout! Poetry doesn’t have to be just organized stanzas and clean line breaks. I especially loved writing all of my concrete poem, where I made shapes with words on the page to deliver a layered message through both what is actually being said and the image created.
Bonus favorite part was writing the romance between Aouli and Nalu. Love, in all its forms, is always the best part of any story in my opinion.
That makes two of your works thus far at Heartdrum. Did you work with Cynthia Leitich Smith both times? What was it like working with her?
I actually have three at Heartdrum! My debut picture book WE ARE HAPA, which will be illustrated by Malia Pila (Native Hawaiian/Kanaka Maoli), will be published by Heartdrum sometime in the fall of next year. And yes, I’ve worked with Cyn on each project, as the anthologist for LEGENDARY FRYBREAD DRIVE-IN and as Heartdrum’s author-curator for both AN EXPANSE OF BLUE and WE ARE HAPA.
Working with Cyn is a dream. She is a magical storyteller, an incredible educator, and a most-appreciated mentor. I am grateful to her dedication to uplifting Native storytellers and for the community she’s built of Native writers that I have found a home within. She believed in AN EXPANSE OF BLUE when I didn’t, and I will never be able to express just how thankful I am to her for that support and confidence.
Thatʻs wonderful. Do you have any experiences as a Native Hawaiian writer and poet that you might share with our readers?
I have been so touched and frankly, a bit shocked, by the outpouring of love and support I have received from early readers of AN EXPANSE OF BLUE. This experience has shown me that people want Kanaka stories and that just makes my heart really full.
Can you share a bit about what you’re working on next?
I am working on another YA verse novel while also going through the editorial process with my fantastic editor, Rosemary Brosnan, of my forthcoming picture book WE ARE HAPA (Heartdrum).
Canʻt wait! What’s one writing rule you believe in and one you think is made to be broken?
Believe in: Write what you know, though this shouldn’t limit what genre you write in. Writing what you know doesn’t just look like writing about your own life. It also looks like infusing your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences into stories of any genre!
Break: Write everyday. Some people thrive with a consistent writing schedule. For me, I need the flexibility to write some days and spend others filling the creative well by daydreaming, resting, dancing hula, and spending time with friends and family.
Absolutely! What advice would you give aspiring writers? What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were starting out?
Read. Read widely across form, genre, and time. Don’t just read the type of books you want to write. You will learn so much more if you push yourself to branch out. And keep a pen with you while you read, write in the margins (use sticky notes if renting from the library of course or borrowing from a friend). Or if you prefer audiobooks or e‑books, keep notes in your phone or in a journal. However you do it, take notes! Make note of favorite lines, moments that make your heart stop, scenes that you know you will think about for a long time to come. By engaging with what you read you are better shaping yourself as a writer.
This is truly great advice. What’s your online presence? And how can readers show their support?
You can find me on Instagram and Threads at @kauawrites and on my website kauamahoeadams.com. Readers can show their support by ordering their copy of AN EXPANSE OF BLUE from their favorite bookseller and by requesting that their local library order a copy for their collection if they haven’t already. And if you love AN EXPANSE OF BLUE and want to post about it, tag me!
Mahalo nui, Kaua, for such a fun interview! We canʻt wait to read more from you soon! To learn more about the poet, including her upcoming works, visit her website and follow her on social media.
Image credit Marie Monforte, courtesy of Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams.