Professor Emerita Joyce Lebra of the University of Colorado at Boulder will talk about her recent novel during a reception for her photography show, "Faces of Hawai'i: Diversity and Renaissance," Sept. 20 at CU-Boulder's Norlin Library.
The reception will be held on the fifth floor of the library between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The theme of Lebra's novel, "Sugar and Smoke," is the murder of Hawaiians because of conflicts over land and is based on actual murders during the 1970s. The book was written under the pen name Napua Chapman. Lebra will talk about writing the novel, its reception in Hawaii and the actual events that inspired it.
Her photography exhibit, on display in Norlin Library's first floor southwest Hughes HotSpot, features portraits illustrating the rich diversity of the people in the state where she grew up. Hawaii's many ethnic groups have intermarried over the generations, making it difficult today to identify ethnically "pure" individuals, and the exhibit is designed to reflect this diversity, Lebra said.
The photography show begins Sept. 13 and will run through Oct. 15. The exhibit will be open during Norlin Library's regular hours.
Lebra is a professor emerita of the history of Japan and India. She is the author of 12 books on Japan, India and the women of Asia and the Pacific, is the recipient of many fellowships and awards and has lectured widely in Asia and in England. Lebra grew up in Honolulu, spent 15 years in Asia and recently moved back to Boulder after commuting between Maui and Boulder for 12 years.
For more information contact Deborah Fink at (303) 492-8302.