Kaui Hart Hemmings is the author of the short story collection House of Thieves where the stories all take place in upper middle class families in Hawaii. The stories in House of Thieves are told from varied points of view--a father, a child, a young woman, an adolescent boy, and more. Some of the stories use very simple jumping off points such as a single mother's discovery of a pornographic magazine in her 13 year old son's room, a white man who is abandoned by his wife to take care of their daughter and another one is about a boy who finally recognizes his father's lack of real love.
Check out the official site for House of Thieves
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to?
Kaui Hart Hemmings: My mom just came into town last night, so Im just hanging out with her and my baby.
DRE: You have a baby?
KHH: Yeah, shes nine months old.
DRE: Oh, thats nice. Whats her name?
KHH: Eleanor.
DRE: Was she born in San Francisco?
KHH: Yeah, San Francisco. Thats where Im living now
DRE: When did you leave Hawaii?
KHH: I left when I was 18 to go to college and then I never came back. Ive since gone back to visit but I never went back to live.
DRE: Where did you go to school?
KHH: I went to Colorado College and I studied English.
DRE: Hows that English Degree going for you?
KHH: Oh, it really helped me out. [laughs] No, just kidding. I graduated and had no idea what to do so I moved to Breckenridge, Colorado to snowboard. After that I worked selling classified ads at Westward newspaper, which is like a Village Voice. That was my big career.
DRE: [laughs] Are there good colleges in Hawaii?
KHH: No there arent really. Theres University of Hawaii, which I guess is good for some things like biology but I never even considered staying in Hawaii for college. You got to get off the rock.
DRE: [laughs] Is Hawaii awesome though?
KHH: Oh my God, yes! It was cool growing up there and you dont really know its cool growing up there until you leave and compare your experiences with other people. Definitely kids have more freedom to run around.
DRE: Is there fear of the volcano?
KHH: Fear of the Volcano?
DRE: Yeah, are you always afraid the island is going to blow up?
KHH: No, I never had that fear [laughs].
DRE: Are there like psychologists in Hawaii who talk about it?
KHH: Ive never heard that. I know some people on the island where the big volcanoes are get superstitious. Theres this God called Kali, whos the goddess of the volcano. If theres ever an old lady hitchhiking theyre supposed to pick her up and if you dont then the volcano will erupt and burn your house down.
DRE: Oh my God.
KHH: Supposedly with people who have picked her up, the volcano will erupt and the lava will go around their houses.
DRE: Wow!
KHH: [laughs] Thats the legend.
DRE: Thats bizarre.
Are your parents native Hawaiians?
KHH: My dad is part native Hawaiian and my mom is white. Her family were missionaries and were some of the first white people on Kaui.
DRE: How autobiographical are the stories in House of Thieves?
KHH: I guess theyre not, but each one has little nuggets of truth, mainly like anecdotes or something. The title story started because when my friends and I were twelve we would have these car washes to raise money for beer and concerts [laughs].
DRE: Over what period of time did you do these stories?
KHH: Well pretty recently. 2002 was really when I cranked them out. I had been writing before 2002, but I was just sort of messing around writing these stories with no unity then I decided why not make set in Hawaii and thats sort of how it came together.
DRE: Was it a conscious decision to get Hawaii out of your system?
KHH: Yeah, definitely. I was always sort of going there and then Id pull away thinking Oh thats not interesting. Hawaiis not that interesting to me because I grew up there. But then I had to get some distance in order to make it new again and have a fresh perspective. That distance also helped me to write from a male perspective. It was just natural that the characters are all different sexes and ages because once I started taking on a new perspective or different sex it just sort of came out much smoother and quicker.
DRE: Had you written like that before?
KHH: No, in college I wrote the story, Begin With An Outline which is about a girl whos halfway between cultures, between class and between growing up, as a response to an assignment and that was the only real thing I wrote. I didnt write at all until I got into Sarah Lawrence for a MFA program. I dont know how I got into that school because I really had no writing samples.
DRE: I read that youre writing a novel thats set in Colorado.
KHH: Its set in a fictional version of Vale, Colorado and I actually finished that novel. My agents reading it now, so hopefully shell like it. Its about a family who lives in Vale, Colorado and their son died in an avalanche and stuff happens [laughs].
DRE: Is it very sorrowful thing?
KHH: It has humor in it as well. Its about these characters, but its also about a town as well. Its about the ski industry and how that affects mountain towns. Its grown into a sort of Disneyland and the people are living in that sort of atmosphere while experiencing a tragedy.
DRE: Do you think youve got Hawaii out of your system?
KHH: I think its out of my system for now. I want to move on so now I have to get Colorado out of my system. I think I have another Colorado novel in there. Hawaii is sort of done.
DRE: Is Hawaii ignored literarily?
KHH: I know local writers have written about it before but it never seems to get out. I think its focused so much on the quirks and the nuances of Hawaii, that they dont make it accessible to people who dont live in Hawaii.
DRE: Hawaii itself is ignored too.
KHH: [laughs] Yes it is! Well maybe not ignored but were just so little and some visitors ask Have you been to America? [laughs] forgetting that Hawaii is part of America!
DRE: Did you grow up upper middle class the way many of the characters in House of Thieves did?
KHH: Yeah though I didnt know it at the time. But the characters I write about are probably a little more exaggerated.
DRE: Are you writing more short stories or just concentrating on novel?
KHH: Im concentrating more on the novels. I think its just been fun for me to write. Im starting a novel about a retired football player.
DRE: Are you into sports?
KHH: I like sports such as surfing and snowboarding. But mostly Im just interested in this person who used to be great versus a person whos great. Thats why I thought Id write about this retired football player and I dont really know where Im going to take it yet. I have some ideas but thats what Im working on now.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official site for House of Thieves
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to?
Kaui Hart Hemmings: My mom just came into town last night, so Im just hanging out with her and my baby.
DRE: You have a baby?
KHH: Yeah, shes nine months old.
DRE: Oh, thats nice. Whats her name?
KHH: Eleanor.
DRE: Was she born in San Francisco?
KHH: Yeah, San Francisco. Thats where Im living now
DRE: When did you leave Hawaii?
KHH: I left when I was 18 to go to college and then I never came back. Ive since gone back to visit but I never went back to live.
DRE: Where did you go to school?
KHH: I went to Colorado College and I studied English.
DRE: Hows that English Degree going for you?
KHH: Oh, it really helped me out. [laughs] No, just kidding. I graduated and had no idea what to do so I moved to Breckenridge, Colorado to snowboard. After that I worked selling classified ads at Westward newspaper, which is like a Village Voice. That was my big career.
DRE: [laughs] Are there good colleges in Hawaii?
KHH: No there arent really. Theres University of Hawaii, which I guess is good for some things like biology but I never even considered staying in Hawaii for college. You got to get off the rock.
DRE: [laughs] Is Hawaii awesome though?
KHH: Oh my God, yes! It was cool growing up there and you dont really know its cool growing up there until you leave and compare your experiences with other people. Definitely kids have more freedom to run around.
DRE: Is there fear of the volcano?
KHH: Fear of the Volcano?
DRE: Yeah, are you always afraid the island is going to blow up?
KHH: No, I never had that fear [laughs].
DRE: Are there like psychologists in Hawaii who talk about it?
KHH: Ive never heard that. I know some people on the island where the big volcanoes are get superstitious. Theres this God called Kali, whos the goddess of the volcano. If theres ever an old lady hitchhiking theyre supposed to pick her up and if you dont then the volcano will erupt and burn your house down.
DRE: Oh my God.
KHH: Supposedly with people who have picked her up, the volcano will erupt and the lava will go around their houses.
DRE: Wow!
KHH: [laughs] Thats the legend.
DRE: Thats bizarre.
Are your parents native Hawaiians?
KHH: My dad is part native Hawaiian and my mom is white. Her family were missionaries and were some of the first white people on Kaui.
DRE: How autobiographical are the stories in House of Thieves?
KHH: I guess theyre not, but each one has little nuggets of truth, mainly like anecdotes or something. The title story started because when my friends and I were twelve we would have these car washes to raise money for beer and concerts [laughs].
DRE: Over what period of time did you do these stories?
KHH: Well pretty recently. 2002 was really when I cranked them out. I had been writing before 2002, but I was just sort of messing around writing these stories with no unity then I decided why not make set in Hawaii and thats sort of how it came together.
DRE: Was it a conscious decision to get Hawaii out of your system?
KHH: Yeah, definitely. I was always sort of going there and then Id pull away thinking Oh thats not interesting. Hawaiis not that interesting to me because I grew up there. But then I had to get some distance in order to make it new again and have a fresh perspective. That distance also helped me to write from a male perspective. It was just natural that the characters are all different sexes and ages because once I started taking on a new perspective or different sex it just sort of came out much smoother and quicker.
DRE: Had you written like that before?
KHH: No, in college I wrote the story, Begin With An Outline which is about a girl whos halfway between cultures, between class and between growing up, as a response to an assignment and that was the only real thing I wrote. I didnt write at all until I got into Sarah Lawrence for a MFA program. I dont know how I got into that school because I really had no writing samples.
DRE: I read that youre writing a novel thats set in Colorado.
KHH: Its set in a fictional version of Vale, Colorado and I actually finished that novel. My agents reading it now, so hopefully shell like it. Its about a family who lives in Vale, Colorado and their son died in an avalanche and stuff happens [laughs].
DRE: Is it very sorrowful thing?
KHH: It has humor in it as well. Its about these characters, but its also about a town as well. Its about the ski industry and how that affects mountain towns. Its grown into a sort of Disneyland and the people are living in that sort of atmosphere while experiencing a tragedy.
DRE: Do you think youve got Hawaii out of your system?
KHH: I think its out of my system for now. I want to move on so now I have to get Colorado out of my system. I think I have another Colorado novel in there. Hawaii is sort of done.
DRE: Is Hawaii ignored literarily?
KHH: I know local writers have written about it before but it never seems to get out. I think its focused so much on the quirks and the nuances of Hawaii, that they dont make it accessible to people who dont live in Hawaii.
DRE: Hawaii itself is ignored too.
KHH: [laughs] Yes it is! Well maybe not ignored but were just so little and some visitors ask Have you been to America? [laughs] forgetting that Hawaii is part of America!
DRE: Did you grow up upper middle class the way many of the characters in House of Thieves did?
KHH: Yeah though I didnt know it at the time. But the characters I write about are probably a little more exaggerated.
DRE: Are you writing more short stories or just concentrating on novel?
KHH: Im concentrating more on the novels. I think its just been fun for me to write. Im starting a novel about a retired football player.
DRE: Are you into sports?
KHH: I like sports such as surfing and snowboarding. But mostly Im just interested in this person who used to be great versus a person whos great. Thats why I thought Id write about this retired football player and I dont really know where Im going to take it yet. I have some ideas but thats what Im working on now.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
courtneyriot:
Kaui Hart Hemmings is the author of the short story collection House of Thieves where the stories all take place in upper middle class families in Hawaii. The stories in House of Thieves are told from varied points of view--a father, a child, a young woman, an adolescent boy, and more. Some of the...
phreelancefoto:
Woah now, did she say Kali was the goddess of the volcano in Hawaii? 
If I am not mistaken, and I am not, Kali is from Hindu mythology, and the Goddess of fire in the Hawaiian Islands is Pele, popular for appearing in the fresh flowing lava.
If I am not mistaken, and I am not, Kali is from Hindu mythology, and the Goddess of fire in the Hawaiian Islands is Pele, popular for appearing in the fresh flowing lava.