From the fabled ʻulu shade of Lele, to the gray cliffs of Kāʻanapali, and the icy waters of ʻĪao, you have arrived (at least metaphorically) in West Maui. With this book of mele, containing lyrics translations, and musical notations of more than eighty of the most beloved songs about this celebrated area, you are also located at the intersection of Hawaiian-language poetry and vocal delivery. Mele, those capsules of artfully compressed and embedded knowledge, carry stories of place, time and people—in this case, those belonging to the ʻāina of the West Maui mountains. And when mele are taken beyond the page and onto your tongue, you—your thoughts, emotions, and experiences—are woven into the mele itself, and there is life.

Edited by performers and composers Nicholas and Zachary Lum, and published by the North Beach – West Maui Benefit Fund in collaboration with Kamehameha Publishing.

Nicholas Kealiʻi Lum, Zachary Alakaʻi Lum

Softcover, 234 pp.