A conversation with W.S. Merwin, Maxine Hong Kingston and Puanani Burgess.

Former Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin and National Book Award-winner Maxine Hong Kingston will be in conversation Friday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m. at the historic ‘Iao Theater in Wailuku. Puanani Burgess will serve as moderator.

Merwin, Kingston and Burgess are deep, engaging authors and elders who bring a lifetime of experience giving voice to people, continents, islands and peace.

Merwin is one of the most influential poets of our day, authoring more than 30 books of poems, prose and translations. He has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the Hawai‘i Governor’s Award for Literature and the Tanning Prize from the Academy of American Poets. He lives in Ha‘iku, but rarely appears publicly.

Kingston, winner of the National Book Award, the National Humanities Medal and a Hawai‘i Living Treasure, is author of The Woman Warrior, China Men, The Fifth Book of Peace, Hawai‘i One Summer and editor of Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace.

Burgess is an educator, poet and cultural translator. She coauthored (with Eric Enos) From Then to Now: A Manual for Doing Things Hawaiian Style and is an ambassador worldwide of Hawaiian cultural values.

Tickets are available at Lava Java Internet Café in Kihei, Anthony’s Coffee Shop in Pa‘ia, the Hui No‘eau, Maui Child Toys & Books in Makawao, Requests Music in Wailuku, Bounty Music in Kahului and Old Lahaina Book Emporium. For information, call 875-7995 or visit alakukui.com.